Maureen Lane

Attention Poverty Commission: Don’t Forget the Parents

It is encouraging that New York City's government wants to reduce poverty. The Mayor's new Center for Economic Opportunity has pledged millions of dollars toward getting young people to stay in school and go on to higher education.

What makes me uneasy, though, is that among all of the programs the Mayor has already announced and promised to fund through the Center on Economic Opportunity, none are specifically aimed at making higher education accessible and affordable option for poor adults as well.

If driving poverty right out of this glorious town is truly the goal of this new Mayoral commission, it is imperative that commission leaders direct a substantial portion of the $71 million set aside for additional programs toward access to education for adults. Recent studies have shown that when parents enroll in college, their children begin to do better in school as well, and when parents get college degrees and attain the economic security that comes with them, their children's financial prospects are also greatly enhanced. Policymakers need to remember that 88 percent of women on welfare who are heads of households move permanently out of poverty once they finish their college degree.

The Center for Economic Opportunity will fall far short of its goals if it ignores what we know works, and does not devote funding or programming toward making higher education a more affordable possibility for poor adults.

In fact, New York City needs an anti-poverty program devoted to increasing access to education for all.

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Posted at 6:53 AM, Dec 21, 2006 in
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