The Institute for Policy Research
at Northwestern University

IPR Policy Forum
Supported with funding from the Joyce Foundation

New Hope: A Policy Model for
the Working Poor and Their Children

"If you work, you should not be poor." In 1994, Milwaukee community activists and city business leaders rallied around this tenet and launched an experimental anti-poverty program called New Hope. In exchange for working a minimum of 30 hours a week, participants were eligible for subsidized health and child care and for earnings supplements that would bring their incomes above the poverty line. The recently published book, Higher Ground: New Hope for the Working Poor and Their Children (Russell Sage Foundation, 2007), follows three New Hope families and recounts the program's surprising success. As America takes stock of Clinton-era poverty and welfare policies, Higher Ground co-author Greg Duncan argues that New Hope could serve as a model for state and national efforts to assist the working poor and their families. The panelists will share their views on whether they believe such a program could work.

Speakers and Presentations:

“How New Hope Kept Families Out of Poverty and Boosted Child Achievement”
by Greg J. Duncan , Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education and Social Policy and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University; and Julie Kerksick, Director, New Hope Project, Milwaukee

Panelists:

King Harris, Chairman, Harris Holdings, Inc.; Senior Executive, Chicago Metropolis 2020
Michael Alvarez, Outreach Coordinator, Office of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)

Click here for more information on the presentations and panelists.

Click here to see the PowerPoint presentation.

Click here to view the video.
(350Kbps/58:21)

Friday, March 16
12:00-1:30 p.m.

Wieboldt Hall, 4th Floor
Kellogg School of Management
340 E. Superior Street
Chicago Campus