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Opportunity NYC Demonstrations- Work Rewards

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Opportunity NYC includes three separate demonstration projects that help poor families avoid long-term poverty: Family Rewards, Work Rewards, and Spark. Each project involves linking temporary cash payments (called cash transfers) to actions and achievements. It is currently being tested in six districts in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, NY that house predominantly impoverished Black and Latino residents.

The Work Rewards program’s primary objective is to increase the workforce efforts of low-income adults living in subsidized housing. The program targets individuals who receive Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Authority. The program builds on the concept of mutual responsibility. Individuals are only awarded monetary payments if they meet certain workforce-related conditions. Such conditions include sustaining full-time employment and participating in approved education or job training while working either part time or full time.

Support for this program is provided by numerous foundations and private funders.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program was to increase the workforce efforts of low-income adults living in subsidized housing.

Results / Accomplishments

MDRC is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial evaluation involving 3,987 Section 8 recipients to assess short and long-term impacts of the program. Labor-related and other outcomes will be tracked over five years.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity
Primary Contact
James Riccio
MDRC
19th Floor
16 East 34 Street
New York, NY 10016-4326
(212) 532-3200
publications@mdrc.org
http://www.mdrc.org/project/opportunity-nyc-demons...
Topics
Economy / Poverty
Economy / Employment
Organization(s)
Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity
Source
MDRC
Date of publication
Mar 2010
Date of implementation
2007
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
New York City
For more details
http://www.mdrc.org/project_16_88.html
Target Audience
Adults
Additional Audience
Section 8 Recipients

Related Promising Practices

  1. Opportunity NYC Demonstrations- Family Rewards
  2. Minnesota Family Investment Program
  3. A.I.R. Harlem
  4. Baystate-Springfield Educational Partnership (BSEP)
  5. Boys and Girls Club Project Learn
  6. Building Essential Skills through Training/ BayStateWorks

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Related Content for: Opportunity NYC Demonstrations- Work Rewards

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.