A cash-assistance program for expectant moms and babies, which first began in Flint more than a year ago, is growing its reach to hundreds more families across Michigan.
Rx Kids, led by Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna, began taking applications in Kalamazoo this week and will kick off in the eastern Upper Peninsula next month. So far, the Flint program has distributed more than $6 million to families — no strings attached. The program is among dozens across the country experimenting with providing direct cash payments to people with the greatest need. Bipartisan lawmakers from regions where the Rx Kids is slated to expand see promise in the program but say they remain alert, watching for how families benefit from getting cash in hand, to use as they see fit.
The premise is simple but the goal is ambitious: give expectant moms cash during a financially rocky time to eliminate infant poverty and boost economic stability. The program gives families $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 a month up to a year of the infant’s life. Program participants in Flint reported spending the money on basics like baby supplies and food, and feeling more financially secure.
“We are improving the family’s ability to keep a roof over their head, food on their table and care for their children. And Rx Kids is helping our families succeed at, really, the hardest job in the world, and that is being a parent,” Hanna said during a Friday press conference announcing the expansion of the program to the eastern Upper Peninsula.
Cash for moms in Kalamazoo and the UP
Rx Kids has so far raised about $100 million from public and private funders. Programs don’t launch in communities without at least two years of funding. Last year, Rx Kids received $20 million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to expand beyond Flint, from the southwest side of the state to its northernmost regions…