The eastern Upper Peninsula is set to provide unconditional financial support to pregnant women and newborns starting next month, offering a significant boost during a financially challenging period for many families.
The Rx Kids program, initially launched in Flint last year and now expanding to Kalamazoo, combines public and private funding to directly assist families in the first year of a child’s life.
In the Upper Peninsula, expectant mothers will receive $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 monthly for the baby’s initial six months. The program will commence on March 3, 2025, for babies born on or after March 1, 2025, across Luce, Mackinac, Alger, Schoolcraft, and Chippewa counties.
Residents like Haley Stewart from Sault Ste. Marie, currently 36 weeks pregnant, express gratitude for the new initiative. During a virtual press conference, Stewart shared, “We’re so thankful that this is something that is new and will help so many more people than even just my family.”
Stewart further explained how the aid would enable her husband to take a week off work after their baby’s birth, a luxury they previously could not afford. She noted, “We’re going to be able to do that still, without having to worry about his check and not being there for that week that he’s not going to be at work.”
Since its inception in Flint, the program has distributed over $6 million to approximately 1,440 families. Touted as the first of its kind on a city-wide scale, Rx Kids offers Flint families $500 monthly throughout the baby’s first year and $1,500 during pregnancy, with no income restrictions. Nearly every baby born in Flint since the launch of the program has been enrolled, according to organizers.
“Rx Kids supports moms and babies when they need it most, during the time of acute economic hardship,” stated Dr. Mona Hanna, the program director and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine’s Associate Dean of Public Health. Dr. Hanna is noted for her involvement in addressing Flint’s water crisis.
Dr. Hanna emphasized the importance of financial support during pregnancy and childbirth, both financially demanding times and critical periods for child development. She added, “We’ve had no evictions in low-income families in Flint.”
Kate Wells
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Michigan Public
The program has also been linked to enhanced healthcare access and improved health outcomes for infants and mothers, according to Dr. Hanna.
With funding secured for two years in the eastern Upper Peninsula, Rx Kids aims to reach about 600 families annually, based on regional birth statistics.
Sault Tribe chairman Austin Lowes highlighted the significance of the program, noting, “So many of our families up here live paycheck to paycheck. And if they miss a couple of paychecks, it’s a hole that’s so difficult to climb out of. So, being able to have this cash assistance will help so many of our people.”
In Kalamazoo, the program is open to infants born on or after February 1, 2025, and expectant mothers residing in the city. Organizers report that 232 individuals have already applied.
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