• Cash incentive program for poor families is renewed, By Julie Bosman, September 20, 2009, New York Times: “An experimental antipoverty program that pays poor families up to $5,000 a year for going to regular medical checkups, attending school and keeping jobs has been extended for a third year. Linda I. Gibbs, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said she was encouraged by some early results in the education component of the program that showed students improved their attendance and passed more exams when they were rewarded with cash…”
• Latin America makes a dent in poverty with ‘conditional cash’ programs, By Tyler Bridges, September 21, 2009, Christian Science Monitor: “Denise de Oliveira lost her job as a janitor in June when she had to stay home to care for her 13-year-old son, who had pneumonia. The 45-year-old single mother of four has kept food on the table, however, thanks to a government program that pays her family $70 per month. ‘It doesn’t give you enough to buy everything you want, but it sure helps,’ said de Oliveira, who lives on a dirt street in this impoverished town on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Unlike traditional government handouts, however, this popular anti-poverty program, which has spread throughout Latin America and even to New York City, requires that de Oliveira’s children stay in school. The children also must have twice-a-year health exams and be vaccinated against diseases. The program goes by different names - Bolsa Familia (Family Fund) in Brazil and Oportunidades (Opportunities) in Mexico, the most populous countries it’s in - and has slightly different rules depending on the country. Analysts say it’s become the most successful anti-poverty program in years because it requires the poor to do something meaningful and measurable in exchange for government charity…”

L.A. County may spend money to try to save money on welfare, By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, September 20, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “With the cost of helping Los Angeles County’s welfare recipients expected to hit $1 billion by the end of this fiscal year, county officials are pushing a plan to shift the burden of some of the most hard-core unemployed to the federal government. If they succeed, local taxpayers could save tens of millions of dollars, and thousands of disabled welfare recipients would see their aid more than triple. But the hurdles could prove high. County officials propose spending $7.2 million to help applicants through a notoriously difficult process to qualify for federal disability assistance. The question remains: Does it make sense for the county to gamble millions now with massive state budget cuts looming?…”

Welfare checks to increase for first time in 19 years, By Julie Bosman, July 5, 2009, New York Times: “The last time welfare recipients in New York saw an increase in their basic cash allowance, Derek Jeter was in high school, a subway token cost $1.15 and David N. Dinkins had just been sworn in as mayor.  Nineteen years later, they will see another long-awaited increase beginning this month, bringing a subsidy for a typical family of three to $321 a month, from $291, city and state officials said…”