*Starting in January 2024, Flint, Michigan will offer pregnant women a one-time payment of $1,500 followed by $500 payments per month for the first year of their child’s life.
Michigan State University will receive $16.5 million from the state omnibus budget for the first prenatal and infant cash allowance program in the country, Michigan Advance reports. The funding supports the Rx Kids initiative, which aids Flint’s mothers and babies financially in order to combat poverty, ABC News 12 reports.
“We know that to take care of children, we need to take care of the adults that take care of children,” said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
“So we’re not just putting money in people’s pockets. We believe we’re opening the door for more opportunities for generations of people in Flint. I know that a lot of other communities across the state and across the nation are going to take notice,” Gilchrist added.
Whitmer signed the $57.4 billion general government budget on Monday, which includes Rx Kids funding from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants.
“First-time moms need cribs – you name it, we need it,” said Flint resident Shila Hurt, who has five children, according to Michigan Advance.
“There are so many things this could help with; it could help with transportation, with groceries. I’m really excited; I think it’s really going to help,” Hurt added.
Nearly $35 million has been raised for Rx Kids, ensuring that it can launch in January and run for at least three years, Michigan Advance reports.
“In country after country we see them adopt a child allowance, and child poverty plummets,” said H. Luke Shaefer, the director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions initiative, who is partnering with Hanna-Attisha to launch Rx Kids. “… We’re doing something that’s never been done before in the country. It’s going to wipe away deep poverty for families and infants. We’re going to be able to see impacts on housing security, food security. We’re going to see what the difference of a universal program that treats families with dignity and respect can do. We’re going to see what it means to have this money flowing in Flint’s economy.”
As Michigan Advance reports, no income or means testing will be required for the Rx Kids program. Flint residents will be the only ones eligible, as long as they are pregnant.
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