{"id":332,"date":"2025-02-18T11:35:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/uncategorized\/cash-moms-experiment-expands-michigan-where-lawmakers-see-promise\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T16:31:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T20:31:16","slug":"cash-moms-experiment-expands-michigan-where-lawmakers-see-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/children-families\/cash-moms-experiment-expands-michigan-where-lawmakers-see-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash for moms experiment expands in Michigan, where lawmakers see promise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rx Kids, led by Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna<\/a>, 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 \u2014 no strings attached. The program is among dozens<\/a> across the country experimenting with providing direct cash payments to people with the greatest need. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s life. Program participants in Flint reported<\/a> spending the money on basics like baby supplies and food, and feeling more financially secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Denae Horton, right, of Flint, prepares to pick up her daughter Malia Wiley, 11 months, during a one year anniversary party for the Flint Rx Kids cash assistance program at the Flint Children\u2019s Museum on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Ryan Garza\/Detroit Free Press)\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are improving the family\u2019s 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,\u201d Hanna said during a Friday press conference announcing the expansion of the program to the eastern Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash for moms in Kalamazoo and the UP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rx Kids has so far raised about $100 million from public and private funders. Programs don\u2019t 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<\/a>, from the southwest side of the state to its northernmost regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s important, said Republican state Sen. John Damoose, who represents part of the UP and the northern Lower Peninsula: \u201cA lot of times people forget the rural poor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of need, certainly, in our big cities but there\u2019s also a lot of support systems that often don\u2019t 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,\u201d Damoose, whose district includes parts of Mackinac and Chippewa counties, said last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Chippewa County \u2014 home to Michigan\u2019s oldest city, Sault Ste. Marie, and the Soo Locks \u2014 roughly 29% of children under 5 years old live below poverty<\/a>. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s life. There are no income requirements. It\u2019s a shorter time period compared with Flint because of how much funding the program was able to raise, Hanna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had people who came up to me and said, \u2018wait a second, you\u2019re a Republican and you\u2019re supporting a cash giveaway to parents.\u2019 Well, of course I am. This is a great idea,\u201d Damoose said during Friday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damoose has told the Free Press that he sees it as an innovative way to get help to people without bureaucratic hurdles. He\u2019s supportive of the program but will be watching for what the results bear out and how it runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we can look back and realize \u2026 in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, we\u2019ve helped out this number of mothers and children and young families, and it seems to be appropriate, then let\u2019s grow it a little bit,\u201d he said last month. \u201cIf we find that we\u2019re just pouring money down a black hole, let\u2019s pull it back or revise the program a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n