2001 Reports

Policies Affecting New York City's Low-Income Families

O'Neill, Hugh; Garcia, Kathryn; Amerlynck, Virginie; Blum, Barbara B.

Since the mid-1990s, policy and program changes at federal, state, and local levels have had a profound impact on the well-being of low-income families in New York City. In 2000, at the request of the New York Community Trust, the National Center for Children in Poverty—a research center affiliated with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University—undertook a review of these changes and their implementation in New York City. This report describes some of the most important policy and program changes affecting New York's low-income families, discusses a number of issues that have arisen in connection with those changes, and suggests several ways in which city, state, and federal governments might enhance the well-being of low-income families. In the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the challenges facing New York City's low-income families are even more urgent.