Sketchy Harlem dental clinics aren't the only ones paying low-income New Yorkers to undergo teeth cleanings, the mayor is doing it too! Results are in for Mayor Bloomberg's Family Rewards Program, an effort to promote good habits among poor people by handing out cash. Since the program began two years ago 2,400 families took part receiving a total of $14 million to do responsible things like getting health insurance and attending parent-teacher conferences. There has been some success—10% more families got dental check-ups and others opened bank accounts, instead of immediately cashing checks—but other areas didn't improve enough, and the city will not expand the privately-financed program (which the Post describes as "bribes") into a publicly-financed one.
The education results from the pilot were disappointing: There was no effect on school performance or attendance for young kids, or for older ones who were already performing poorly, reports the AP. One suspicion is that "complicated paper work, deadlines and bureaucratic hassles may have stymied participants from taking full advantage of the program."
Bloomberg admits the pilot program is a work in progress, "If you never fail, I can tell you, you’ve never tried new, innovative things. And I don’t know that this is a failure. I think it is, some things worked, and some things didn’t, and some things the jury’s still out on. And anything new you’re going to have that diversity of results."
