A Michigan cash aid program is expanding to three new communities this April.
Rx Kids, which offers a cash payment during pregnancy and then monthly assistance for six or 12 months after birth is currently available in 39 cities, counties and townships from the Upper Peninsula to metro Detroit.
Come April 1, the program will start taking applications in Mount Clemens and Center Line in Macomb County.
It will also expand to Montmorency County in northern Michigan on April 1.
Rx Kids was founded by pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna who helped expose the Flint water crisis. The program started in Flint two years ago and has since rapidly expanded, kicking off in Detroit earlier this year and now covering the entire U.P. It’s estimated to be able to reach more than 18,000 babies born each year.
Rx Kids began taking applications in Detroit in February and has distributed more than $1.4 million and enrolled 1,113 families.
On Wednesday, April 1, applications open at 9 a.m. for Rx Kids in Mount Clemens and Center Line, and in Montmorency County, according to the Rx Kids website. Moms, living in those communities, who are 16 or more weeks pregnant can apply to get $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 for the first six months of their baby’s life (born on or after April 1). The application site is http://rxkids.aidkit.org/apply.
The program does not have income or work requirements. Rx Kids is led by Michigan State University, and GiveDirectly, a nonprofit focused on cash transfers to alleviate poverty, administers the program.
A new report from Rx Kids, based on survey responses, found that 74% of moms reported spending their payments on baby supplies, such as diapers and formula. The program is meant to alleviate financial burdens for families during an important part of an infant’s development.
For more information, go to rxkids.org.
Reach reporter Nushrat Rahman at nrahman@freepress.com