Key points:
- Rx Kids started in Flint and now operates in 11 cities across Michigan.
- A bill in the Michigan Senate seeks to expand Rx Kids statewide.
A cash aid program for moms and babies is now available for more families in Oakland County.
The program, Rx Kids, has launched in Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township, adding to the growing list of cities where it already operates across Michigan, including Pontiac.
Rx Kids, led by Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna, is designed to tackle infant poverty by providing “cash prescriptions” — $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 a month for up to a year of the baby’s life. In Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township, eligible mothers can get $1,500 while pregnant and then $500 a month during the first six months of infancy.
“The Rx Kids program is providing critical cash assistance that is already helping hundreds of families and newborns in Pontiac with the essentials that are allowing them to thrive. We’re thrilled to support and expand this program to even more families in Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter in a news release.
Rx Kids, a program from Michigan State University and the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan, is partnering with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA) for the effort in Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township. Susan Harding, CEO of OLHSA, said the program is “an important step forward” for the two communities.
“When moms and babies have the financial resources they need right from the start, it strengthens families and builds healthier communities,” Harding said in the news release.
Rx Kids has so far distributed roughly $14 million to more than 3,300 families, as of Sept. 2.
A May 2025 survey of Rx Kids participants in Flint, Pontiac, Kalamazoo and five counties in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, found that 87% of moms said the program helped them “make ends meet” and 72% of mothers said they were able to take time off from work to care for their baby, themselves or their family.
“This expansion reflects our commitment to ensuring every child in Michigan has a strong start in life,” said Hanna, Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, in the news release.
Rx Kids is now running in 11 communities. More than a year after launching in Flint, the program is open to eligible pregnant moms from parts of the Upper Peninsula and the west side of the state, and has garnered tens of millions of public and private dollars as well as interest from bipartisan lawmakers to propel its mission. A bill in the Michigan Senate seeks to grow the program statewide.
How to apply: Pregnant mothers living in Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township and infants born on or after Sept. 1 are eligible. For more information, go to https://rxkids.org/
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @NushratR.