Oportunidades (English: Opportunities) is a government social assistance program in Mexico founded in 1997.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17tues4.html?ex=1318737600&en=b0691545441aa115&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Paying for Better Parenting - New York Times Accessed 12/07/06 It is designed to target poverty by providing cash payments to families in exchange for regular school attendance, health clinic visits, and nutritional support.http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/reducingpoverty/case/119/summary/Mexico-Oportunidades%20Summary.pdf Mexico's Oportunidades Program Accessed 12/07/06 Oportunidades is credited with decreasing poverty and improving health and educational attainment in regions in which it has been deployed.http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862006000800004&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=en Bulletin of the World Health Organization - Reaching Mexico's poorest Accessed 12/07/06 As of 2006, around one-quarter of Mexico's population participates in Oportunidades.