A group from Baltimore is headed up to New York today to visit the much-acclaimed Harlem Children's Zone, which provides families with social services in every aspect of life from the time children are born. The goal is to stem the cycle of poverty in the 100 blocks served. During his campaign, President-elect Obama said he wanted to replicate HCZ in 20 cities across America.

The Baltimore group is going to research the prospects of putting a zone in the western part of the city. The school system is sending Dr. Alonso, Michael Sarbanes (director of community engagement) and Jonathan Brice (director of student support). There will also be representatives from the mayor's office, the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Enterprise Community Partners.

Paul Tough, the author of a new book about HCZ founder Geoffrey Canada called Whatever It Takes, recently spent a month as a guest blogger for Slate. Check out the archived coverage here for more on the work in Harlem.