A cash assistance program for pregnant people and new mothers went live in Detroit Monday.
Rx Kids will pay $1,500 to Detroit mothers during pregnancy and another $500 per month during the first six months of their baby’s life.
Dr. Mona Hanna, associate dean for Public Health at Michigan State University, directs the program. She said it’s “medicine” rather than “charity.”
“It’s not a pill, it’s prevention. We give families a little bit of breathing room during pregnancy and infancy when money is the tightest because stress, housing instability, and hunger makes kids and communities sick,” Hanna said during an event in Detroit to mark the launch.
Rx Kids first launched in Flint in 2024. In the years since, the program has expanded to over two dozen lower income communities across the state. That includes Pontiac, Clare County, and Roscommon County.
Starting in early March, it will be available across the entire Upper Peninsula.
Detroit is the largest community to take part so far, with officials estimating it could serve around 8,000 babies.
Mayor Mary Sheffield said families can use the money to pay for housing, utilities, food and other necessities.
“We know that this support comes during one of the most economically vulnerable and developmentally critical times during families’ and children’s lives. The first months of life are critical. Not just for the child’s health in development, but also for the family’s stability and their overall confidence,” Sheffield said.
The only requirements for taking part in Rx Kids involve how far along someone is in their pregnancy, the age of an infant, and whether they live in a covered area.
Detroit mom Rakiah Reives said she reached out before the program had announced its Detroit expansion. During Monday’s event, she shared a poem that involved the struggles of motherhood and encouraged others to sign up rather than worry about social stigma.
“Use the resources because if we don’t use them, we lose them. Everybody cries for help and then, when the resources [are] available, everybody looks at images or what the next person’s going to say and all this stuff like that. Don’t worry about the next person, worry about yourself,” Reives said.
A mix of public funding and private donations have made the Rx Kids expansions possible. The state’s recent budget gave it around $270 million to support it for the next few years.
Despite the program having bipartisan support, it has received some criticism for being accessible to everyone in a coverage area. Critics have suggested the program should limit participants based on income levels or citizenship status.
Supporters argue too many hoops limit participation in the program and that supporting all babies, regardless of their circumstances, has had proven results.
“In places where Rx Kids has been running, we’re already seeing better outcomes, from more consistent checkups before and after birth, babies born at healthier weights; decreased NICU admissions,” Governor Whitmer said.
