Early Education Matters shares how Michigan parents, child care providers, and early childhood educators are working together to are working together to create more early education opportunities for all little Michiganders. It is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Across Michigan, a growing number of communities are redefining when education begins and what it means to support a child’s development from the start.
Rx Kids, the country’s first universal and unconditional cash prescription program for pregnant people and infants, provides financial support to every eligible family within a geographic area, no income requirements, no strings attached. Families receive a one-time $1,500 payment during pregnancy and $500 per month for a designated length of time that varies from six to 12 months during the baby’s first year of life.
First launched in Flint in 2023, the program has expanded to Kalamazoo, Pontiac, and Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula. With bipartisan support and data showing early impact, advocates say Rx Kids isn’t just a public health intervention. It’s an early education intervention.
“We’ve long known that the conditions children are born into shape everything that comes after,” says Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “But we’ve never built policy around that truth — until now. If we want to close opportunity gaps, we have to start before preschool. Children in stable homes, with less stress and more caregiver interaction, are better prepared for school. This is how we build the foundation for lifelong learning.”…