By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — A city program that pays low-income New Yorkers to be healthier and do better in school will end after having paid out over $14 million and yielding mixed results, city officials said Tuesday.
The “Opportunity NYC-Family Rewards Program” began in 2007 and disbursed more than $14 million to 2,400 families during its first two years.
The average payout per family was $3,000, with the majority of the money awarded to families for meeting health and education goals.
Families got $25 for elementary or middle school students who attended school 95 percent of the scheduled days in the school year. Annual medical check-ups earned $200 per family member who made the visit to the doctor. Those with sustained full-time employment got $150 a month.
The program appeared to be particularly successful in improving the dental care of those enrolled, but when it came to promoting better education, Opportunity NYC did not improve either test scores or attendance for elementary or middle school students.
The city has no plans to renew the privately-funded program at this time.
The city reported that according to the criterion for poverty they established, which includes levels of access to medical care, cash and bank accounts, the program had reduced poverty among the families enrolled by 11 percentage points.
