The first year of a sweeping effort to help young minority men in New York City has ranged from adding 500 new internships to training 3,000 teenage jail inmates on making better decisions.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg discussed the Young Men's Initiative on Thursday. He says he's "encouraged by the progress" in the three-year, $127 million program, partly financed with his personal money.

The effort aims to lower poverty, crime, unemployment and dropout rates among black and Latino males between 16 and 24. The city is paying about $67 million. Bloomberg and fellow billionaire George Soros are contributing $60 million.

It's been praised by minority advocates and others. It's also spurred questions about whether it's the most effective way to spend government money to address the issue.