Disappointed by the results of single-issue approaches to resolving urban poverty, the Annie E. Casey Foundation is preparing to launch the first private, national community-building program, the Associated Press reports.

The Casey foundation -- the country's 20th largest, with assets of almost $1.6 billion -- plans to spend up to $500 million on its Making Connections initiative over the next 10 years.

While groups have fought urban poverty through projects including jobs training, health clinics, housing and social welfare counseling, recent experiments in Seattle and Chicago have shown the value of a holistic approach, the news service reports.

By tackling problems such as health care, unemployment, education and crime simultaneously, the foundation wants to build stronger communities, AP reports.

The foundation plans to make working with entire families the central focus of Making Connections, to in turn help build a strong community, AP reports.

The Making Connections program will bring together grassroots groups, foundations, government agencies, residents, businesses, schools, police and churches already involved in the neighborhoods to talk about the problems facing the community.

The foundation would then use money, staff and other resources to support efforts being made by those groups, the news service reports. Experts say the biggest hurdles will be determining problem areas on which to concentrate and getting investment into the poverty-stricken areas.

The foundation has selected 22 cities to be the program's first national test beds: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Camden, N.J., Denver, Des Moines, Iowa, Detroit, Hartford, Conn., Indianapolis, Louisville, Ky., Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oakland, Calif., Philadelphia, Providence, R.I., San Antonio, San Diego, Savannah, Ga., Seattle, St. Louis, Washington, D.C.

The Baltimore-based Casey foundation was established in 1948 by United Parcel Service founder Jim Casey, in memory of his mother.

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