NEW YORK, NY April 26, 2007 —Close to 28,000 adults and children currently reside in family shelters. A new city program aimed at moving them into permanent housing has received mixed reviews. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

The program is called Work Advantage. As its name suggests, families must be employed at least 20 hours a week to receive help with their rent. A family of 4 will get a voucher worth just over a thousand dollars a month.

Along the way, families will be encouraged to set aside money equal to as much as 20% of their rent. If they do, the city says it will match whatever they've saved. The Department of Homeless Services wants families to leave the voucher program after 1 year but will allow some to stay up to 2 years.

While some elected officials and advocates like the savings portion of the plan, they worry families won't be earning enough to pay market rents when the voucher ends. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.