NYC Pays Parents to, Well, Parent Their Kids

I wish I lived in New York City, so I could get paid to parent my children. That seems to be the thrust of a year-old program called Opportunity NYC aimed at the city’s poorest, high-crime neighborhoods. Parents receive cash incentives for taking their children to the dentist and doctor, ensuring they attend school, attending parent-teacher conferences, and other activities that many parents consider just part of the job.

I certainly give Mayor Mike Bloomberg credit for creativity. (Having worked for Bloomberg News, I can tell you I have seen the power of the man’s vision in action.) Maybe this is a way to get inner city parents more involved in their children’s lives and break the cycle of poverty and crime. It seems to work when employers pay people to take care of their own health -- another thing you’d assume they would do for free.

What do you think? Is this an innovative way to address urban blight or a ludicrous exercise in greed? Or something in between?

More:

• How to Be an Involved Non-Custodial Parent
• What Is a Troubled Teen?
• Government Benefits for Families