Cash for moms experiment expands in Michigan, where lawmakers see promise

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.

That’s important, said Republican state Sen. John Damoose, who represents part of the UP and the northern Lower Peninsula: “A lot of times people forget the rural poor.”

“There’s a lot of need, certainly, in our big cities but there’s also a lot of support systems that often don’t exist in areas like ours and I can tell you, our people up here are suffering because of inflation, because of lack of services. They need some help,” Damoose, whose district includes parts of Mackinac and Chippewa counties, said last month.

In Chippewa County — home to Michigan’s oldest city, Sault Ste. Marie, and the Soo Locks — roughly 29% of children under 5 years old live below poverty. It’s one of the counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula where Rx Kids is slated to expand. The other counties are Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft. High housing costs, a seasonal economy, a dearth of health care and miles between neighbors and services can make life in the Upper Peninsula challenging and unaffordable, Damoose said.

The UP program is estimated to cover about 600 babies a year. Pregnant moms and babies born after March 1 will be eligible for $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 a month for the first six months of the child’s life. There are no income requirements. It’s a shorter time period compared with Flint because of how much funding the program was able to raise, Hanna said.

“I’ve had people who came up to me and said, ‘wait a second, you’re a Republican and you’re supporting a cash giveaway to parents.’ Well, of course I am. This is a great idea,” Damoose said during Friday’s announcement.

Damoose has told the Free Press that he sees it as an innovative way to get help to people without bureaucratic hurdles. He’s supportive of the program but will be watching for what the results bear out and how it runs.

“If we can look back and realize … in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, we’ve helped out this number of mothers and children and young families, and it seems to be appropriate, then let’s grow it a little bit,” he said last month. “If we find that we’re just pouring money down a black hole, let’s pull it back or revise the program a little bit.”

Related:

• Michigan’s $55M experiment with guaranteed income begins with Flint moms
• Michigan’s new anti-poverty effort: $7,500 for Flint moms, no strings attached
• Cash for Flint mothers. Mott to offer up to $7,500 to help baby’s first year

State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, said he likes the program because it supports families but thinks it should have income restrictions to “keep the costs in check” and ensure it runs for a long time. He also said support like this can encourage people to have more children and grow the state’s population. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has seen population loss back-to-back in the past two decades, according to research from the Michigan Technological University.

“If a couple is considering whether or not to have children and the financial hardship is part of that calculation, this program can offset those concerns and give people hope that they can indeed afford to have more children and raise a family,” McBroom said.

Over in the city of Kalamazoo, where nearly a third of kids under 5 years old live below poverty, applications for Rx Kids opened Feb. 12 for expectant moms and babies born on or after Feb. 1. Just like in Flint, Kalamazoo’s version of the program will offer $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 the first 12 months of the infant’s life. As of Friday, the Kalamazoo program received more than 200 applications.

“There’s just so many people living on the margins and Kalamazoo is resource rich, but sometimes people don’t understand how to navigate all the different assistance programs,” said Democratic state Rep. Julie Rogers, whose district includes the city of Kalamazoo.

Rogers pointed to a significant ALICE population in Kalamazoo. The United Way’s ALICE measure — which stands for asset limited, income constrained, employed — considers households earning above the federal poverty level but still struggling to afford the basics. In Kalamazoo County, 39% of households fell below the ALICE threshold.

“We are trusting mothers, we are trusting families to decide what is best for them and their family and situation,” Rogers said. “So, instead of the government being prescriptive and telling people how to spend the money, we’re giving them the cash assistance with pretty much a blank slate of, they can choose and decide.”

To measure success, bipartisan lawmakers are watching for a range of outcomes, from increased birth rates and school enrollment to improvements in child development and health.

Rogers said she’s “cautiously optimistic” about the Rx Kids program as a pilot, and wants to see the data from participating communities. Damoose, Rogers and state Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, said they would consider more public dollars to go toward the program in the future.

Not just ‘a government handout’

Damoose said Rx Kids doesn’t necessarily fit into a “Republican orthodoxy,” since it involves government giving cash to people in need, but he supports the effort because he is “very pro-family.”

“I can have a real role in helping to convince Republican lawmakers to at least understand the benefits and how it fits within our sort of preconceived notions, if you will. Because I’ve got to dispel the idea that this is just a flat out government handout,” Damoose said.

McBroom said there’s support from his Republican colleagues to strengthen families, but questions remain on the long term sustainability.

“Where we put our money shows some of our values as a society. It shows what things we need to incentivize. Sometimes we’re incentivizing particular behaviors and actions. In this case, I see us believing that we need as a society to increase children. We need to increase population. And so, I think it’s valuable for us to put our money towards that endeavor,” he said.

Back in Flint where Rx Kids first began, more than 1,400 families have so far enrolled in the program. Cherry said starting in the city which he represents, Flint, was a good call because of its high concentration of poverty, but it shouldn’t stop there.

“The goal is not for it to end at Flint,” he said. “The goal is: we want to make sure that we’re helping all these mothers and babies.”

Hanna said programs in Wayne County and Oakland County communities will likely go live later this year.

How to apply

City of Kalamazoo: Applications opened Feb. 12 for expectant moms and babies born on or after Feb. 1. People can sign up while pregnant or until a baby is six months old. The Kalamazoo program will offer $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 the first year of the infant’s life.

Eastern Upper Peninsula (Chippewa, Alger, Schoolcraft, Luce and Mackinac Counties): Expectant moms or babies born on or after March 1 are eligible. Applications will open March 3. Expectant moms can get $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 for the first 6 months of the infant’s life.

Expectant mothers must live in the areas where the program is running. To learn more, go to rxkids.org/.

This story was produced as part of a series for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2024 Data Fellowship.

Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @NushratR.