Some Hope Mayor's Anti-Poverty Plan, Due Soon, Will Include Bold Outlines

from The New York Sun

By JILL GARDINER

Mayor Bloomberg's blueprint for reducing poverty among young children, young adults, and the working poor in the city is in the final planning stages and will likely be rolled out in the coming weeks.

In September, Mr. Bloomberg — building on the report of a blue ribbon anti-poverty commission he convened — announced that the city would give cash rewards to low-income individuals for actions such as staying in school and that it would seek approval to provide tax refunds for low-income families that need day care for children under age 3.

The remainder of the framework outlined by Mr. Bloomberg was broader. He gave the city agencies that will play a role in the plan 60 days to draft budget proposals, timelines, and strategies for more specific policy plans.

The 25 agencies affected have all reported back to Mr. Bloomberg's deputy mayor for health and human services, Linda Gibbs, who is now hammering out a final proposal. Ms. Gibbs declined through a spokesman to be interviewed because the plan is not yet finished.

The CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, Geoffrey Canada, who was tapped by Mr. Bloomberg to head the commission along with Time Warner's CEO, Richard Parsons, said he expected the plan to be bold, given the mayor's commitment to the issue.

"All of us have placed our reputations on the line in saying we don't want to fool around the edges," Mr. Canada said. He added: "If this is not bold and risky, I'll be disappointed."

The initial goal has gotten mixed reviews, with some saying that the scope of the plan should encompass more than the three groups identified by the Commission for Economic Opportunity and others saying the city should not be throwing money at a problem that has existed for decades despite other attempts to tackle it.

Many in the social service world have praised Mr. Bloomberg for taking it up, but they are now waiting to see how the details are filled in and whether it will be as sweeping as promised. One thing is clear, given that Mr. Parsons is being named as a possible 2009 mayoral candidate and that Mr. Bloomberg has staked out poverty reduction as a major second-term agenda item: There is a lot riding on the results.

The chairman of the City Council's General Welfare Committee, Bill de Blasio, said he would hold a hearing on the new proposals, which he said could come out in two phases, as soon as they're released.

"In theory, these blue ribbon commissions provide watershed moments when everything is up for re-evaluation," Mr. de Blasio said.

The communications director for the Rockefeller Foundation, John Costiglio, said the foundation has already had conversations with the mayor's office about making a donation to help fund the cash rewards for low-income residents who follow the city's guidelines. The head of the foundation, Judith Rodin, was a member of the commission.

Mr. Bloomberg said the cash reward program, a controversial idea that has only been attempted in other countries, will cost $24 million. It will be funded entirely through private philanthropy.