Flint, Michigan, a city with one of the highest rates of child poverty in the nation, has taken a groundbreaking step to tackle this issue with a new transfer program that provides new mothers with financial support.
Rx Kids is universal and not limited to lower-income households. The pediatrician, along with Luke Shaefer, a poverty expert at the University of Michigan and co-director of the program, hopes that including all new mothers, regardless of income, will foster a broader sense of community and civic engagement.
“This is something that has been tried over and over and over again, in country after country,” Shaefer said, noting the success of similar programs in other nations. As the program progresses, researchers will track its impact on prenatal care, birth outcomes, and various indicators of community well-being.
With over $43 million in funding from foundations, health insurance companies, and the state of Michigan, the program is set to continue for three years. Hanna-Attisha believes that using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for new mothers is an approach other states could adopt. Additionally, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget plan for Michigan incorporated funding to replicate Flint’s pioneering cash assistance initiative for new mothers in multiple other cities across the state.
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Source: Black Enterprise
