Michigan's Rx Kids cash aid program expands outside of Michigan

A Michigan cash aid program is expanding out of state for the first time.

Rx Kids, which kicked off in Flint more than two years ago offering moms and babies no-strings-attached cash before and after pregnancy, is expected to launch in high-need Cleveland ZIP codes this fall.

The Ohio version of Rx Kids is slated to cover three ZIP codes (44103; 44110 and 44114) and an estimated 400 moms a year for two years. The program has so far garnered roughly $2 million from the city of Cleveland, the William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation and private donors, and seeks to raise $42 million for the 4,000 babies born in the city.

"Every conversation I have with folks in Maine to folks in Oregon to folks in Mississippi to folks in every state that I get the privilege to talk to, the common thread is everybody loves babies and everybody's looking for solutions," said Dr. Mona Hanna, Rx Kids director.

Qualifying families will be able to get $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 a month for the first six months of their baby's life. Rx Kids is partnering with First Year Cleveland, an advocacy organization trying to reduce infant mortality.

Since starting in 2024, Rx Kids has grown to nearly 60 communities in an effort to alleviate financial burdens for families during a vulnerable time. Studies have shown a sharp decline in the number of newborn deaths in Flint during the first month of life after Rx Kids and a reduction in preterm births and low birth weight.

Rx Kids offers $1,500 in cash assistance mid-pregnancy and then monthly $500 payments for six or 12 months after birth, depending on the location. The program is funded with a combination of state, local, private and philanthropic dollars, and has raised more than $400 million so far.

Rx Kids is led by the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, where Hanna is an associate dean of public health, and administered by GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that specializes in cash delivery programs intended to alleviate poverty. The University of Michigan is a research partner.

Reach reporter Nushrat Rahman at nrahman@freepress.com.