The nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, Rx Kids, has officially launched in Detroit, marking its largest expansion to date. Announced by Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield as her first major initiative in office, the program provides $1,500 prenatally and $500 per month for a baby’s first six months, reaching around 8,000 babies born in the city each year. Applications for Detroit families are now open via RxKids.org and the City of Detroit website.
Founded in 2024 by Dr. Mona Hanna, associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Rx Kids was initially launched in Flint, Michigan. The program has since grown to 29 communities across the state, delivering over $24 million to more than 5,900 families. Dr. Hanna emphasizes that Rx Kids strengthens family financial security, improves health outcomes, and builds a more equitable future for mothers, babies, and communities.
The cash assistance program addresses the financial pressures families face during pregnancy and infancy, a period when expenses can reach approximately $20,000 in a child’s first year. It also responds to the U.S.’s lack of a national maternal or paid parental leave program. Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of Kresge’s Detroit Program, described Rx Kids as a practical, dignity-centered approach that stabilizes households during a child’s critical first year.
A coalition of philanthropic, corporate, and public partners is supporting the program in Detroit, including the City of Detroit, the Kresge Foundation, Skillman Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Ballmer Group, General Motors, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, Huntington Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan, and United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Additionally, the state of Michigan has committed $250 million to expand Rx Kids to more high-need communities over the next three years, ensuring broader access to prenatal and infant financial support.
