When Flint resident Kinea Wright learned she was pregnant with her daughter Emani, she was already facing health challenges that had forced her to step away from full-time work. Then, shortly after Emani was born, her husband was injured on the job and unable to work.

“My doctor told me about Rx Kids when I was pregnant because I was a high-risk patient,” Wright said. “After I had Emani, my husband got injured at work. He hasn’t been able to work and is still undergoing medical treatments. The money from Rx Kids helped to supplement his income and cover a lot of our unexpected expenses. It was a true blessing.”

Launched in Flint in early 2024, Rx Kids is the first community-wide maternal and infant cash prescription program in the nation. Every pregnant person living in the city receives $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month for the baby’s first year, no strings attached.

Since launching, Rx Kids has delivered more than $10 million to nearly 2,000 families, supporting the births of more than 1,700 babies in Flint.

“In Flint, Rx Kids is delivering more than just cash, it’s delivering security, access to health care, and peace of mind during the most pivotal first year of life,” said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “These outcomes show how economic support in early childhood can build a foundation of wellness that lasts a lifetime.”

For Wright, the support eased the stress of an unpredictable year.

“Nobody has certainty in life. We never know what life is going to throw at us,” she said. “Just that extra bit of financial security can go a long way. Whether you have money or you don’t, expenses come up, emergencies happen. The biggest reward is knowing that people care … There are people out there who want to see us succeed.”

Celeste Lord-Timlin had a different path to Rx Kids. When she moved to Flint in 2018 as an AmeriCorps member, she didn’t know anyone. Fresh out of college, she came for a short-term blight elimination role but ended up staying in Flint, building a career, earning two master’s degrees, and starting a family.

“I moved here knowing nobody,” Lord-Timlin said. “But I found so much here … community, opportunity, my husband, and eventually, my family.”

Lord-Timlin was a full-time employee with the city of Flint and a graduate student when she enrolled in Rx Kids midway through her pregnancy. She used part of the $1,500 prenatal payment for essential baby gear and some to cover tuition after scaling back to part-time classes.

“When I tell people that Rx Kids helped me afford graduate school while pregnant, they’re surprised,” she said. “But that’s exactly what it did. It let me invest in myself so I could better invest in my family.”

The program’s early data shows it is making significant progress in Flint. A November 2024 survey found that 88 percent of participants said Rx Kids helped them make ends meet and feel more financially secure, 84 percent reported increased confidence as parents, and 67 percent said it improved health for themselves or their baby. Two-thirds said it made accessing health care easier, and 71 percent used the funds to take needed time off work.

“Mothers, especially new mothers, face so much stress,” Wright said. “If we can remove even one of those stressors, we’re giving families a better chance.”

The program is expanding into other Michigan communities with momentum to shape the lives of thousands of families locally, regionally, and nationally. Billed as a “plug-and-play program” that can be replicated in communities across the nation, the Rx Kids core model is in place “with the highest standards of security, privacy, and program integrity,” according to its website. The program scored a huge victory when the Michigan Legislature appropriated $20 million for 2025 expansion.

The Ruth Mott Foundation recognized Rx Kids’ transformative potential early, awarding its largest-ever single grant to the program in 2023. The investment aligns with the Foundation’s work to address the root causes of poverty and improve quality of life for Flint families.

“Every baby in Flint deserves to start life on solid ground,” Hanna said. “Thanks to partners like the Ruth Mott Foundation, we’re proving that when we invest in families from the very beginning, the returns ripple through generations.”

For Lord-Timlin, Wright, and thousands of other parents, that investment has meant more than covering bills it ,has meant space to focus on what matters most.

“Flint gave me so much … my career, my education, my family,” she said. “And Rx Kids was another way this community showed up for us.”