Pregnant moms in Kalamazoo will get help giving their babies a strong start in 2025—with cash

“It signals to all families that our community cares and is invested in the well-being of their baby and wants to set them up for success.”

Having a baby isn’t just physically and emotionally exhausting—it’s expensive.

Between childcare, food, diapers, and medical expenses, the first year of a baby’s life costs families around $15,000. That’s stressful for everyone—and could affect their baby’s health.

“We know having a baby is so expensive. [Rx Kids] can provide that little extra bit of power and choice that we want families to have,” said Alyssa Stewart, chief impact officer at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.

Stewart is talking about a revolutionary new program headed for Kalamazoo. It’s called Rx Kids, and it uses “cash prescriptions” to reduce the short- and long-term impacts of infant poverty.

“And maybe equally important,” Stewart said, “it signals to all families that our community cares and is invested in the well-being of their baby and wants to set them up for success.”

Kalamazoo is a city already known for its work to improve the lives of growing kids. In 2025, Rx Kids will help the roughly 800 new babies estimated to be born there have a better shot at life right from the start. It does that with cash prescriptions—in other words, cash given to new moms and their babies. 

It got its start in Flint, and since then has been successful in helping reduce the very serious and lifelong impacts of infant poverty. It’s open to any pregnant person regardless of income level.

Moms enrolled in the program receive an initial payment of $1,500 during their pregnancy, to help with affording nutritious food, prenatal care, and to prepare for their baby’s arrival. Once their baby is born, they receive $500 each month for the first year of the child’s life. The program has already prescribed nearly $3 million to 996 moms (and counting) since it launched in Flint.

 “We want to give them this support because their baby is our success as a community,” Stewart said.

Kalamazoo offers many tools for moms and families

Rx Kids is the newest addition to a lengthy list of organizations in Kalamazoo doing their part to decrease the city’s historically high black infant mortality rates.

“Kalamazoo is so fortunate to have a strong network of support services for new moms and babies. There are so many of us playing our unique part,” wrote Susan Rosas, CEO of YWCA Kalamazoo, in an email to The ‘Gander. 

YWCA Kalamazoo is also home to several programs that provide support to moms and their babies. YWCA’s Women and Infant Supportive Health, for example, is a home visitation program that offers transportation to doctor visits, social support, and one-on-one education. YWCA also operates the community’s Reproductive Health Fund, which helps people afford access to reproductive health care, including doula services. Housed within the city’s YWCA is Cradle Kalamazoo—a program that uses evidence-based and holistic interventions to reduce infant death. 

“The challenge is tying it all together so that every birthing person knows what is available to them, and that what is available is also accessible and inclusive,” said Rosas. 

“We also know it’s simply not enough—despite all the services, our Black infant mortality rate in Kalamazoo remains a serious problem.”

The Rx Kids program is part of the community’s quest to fix that problem. It has a simple sign-up process and no income eligibility restrictions—which are major wins, in Rosas’ eyes. 

“My favorite part about the program is that Rx Kids has no restrictions on how families spend their money—it’s built-in respectful recognition that families will spend the money the way they decide they need to,” she said. 

“As a Flint native, I initially heard about the Flint Rx Kids program prior to its implementation,” said Jameca Patrick-Singleton, executive director of Cradle Kalamazoo and vice president of community health for YWCA Kalamazoo. She became involved with Rx Kids in January and was excited to see that enrolled families were receiving prenatal care sooner, and reported that they were able to use the money for things like rent and baby items. 

“Knowing what was happening in Flint, I was happy to know that a program this meaningful to families was being discussed in Kalamazoo,” she said.

Support from the locals 

“We started Rx Kids in Flint, but it was always going to be something that we could export to other communities,” said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids, in an exclusive interview with The ‘Gander. 

She and her co-director, Luke Shaefer, said Rx Kids is a “plug and play” program that’s easy to add to communities, as long as the funding is available and community leaders are on board. 

“One of the things I love is this incredibly diverse coalition across so many different dimensions, really ready to roll up their sleeves and bring this model to communities,” said Shaefer, who’s a professor of social justice and social policy at the University of Michigan.

“It is about reducing disparities, but it’s also about lifting up the unbelievably important work of parenting and saying in this very concrete and tangible way, we’re here for that. We’re here to support families.”

Rx Kids is also receiving recognition outside of Michigan. Should she be elected this November, Vice President Kamala Harris said she would propose a tax credit that would provide support to American families as they work to improve the quality of their lives. She also said she would bring back the expanded Child Tax Credit, putting thousands of dollars back into the pockets of parents with children under the age of 18. 

“Vice President Kamala Harris included a $6,000 credit for families with a new baby that was inspired by Rx Kids,” said Shaefer. “I think it’s an example of us being a part of shaping national discussion already.”

He added that Rx Kids has another high-profile person championing the program.

“The governor was really excited about it, and she took the lead in putting the expansion dollars in her proposed budget for the year, and that’s what really kicked things off.”

In her 2025 State of Michigan budget, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allocated $20 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to expand programs like Rx Kids in Michigan. With a funding goal of over $5 million per year, about $1.4 million of TANF funds will be used for the Kalamazoo Rx Kids program annually.

“At the state level, we believe that the financial support that Rx Kids provides will relieve some of the financial stressors of new parents, allowing them to focus on their recovery and caretaking of their infants,” said Rep. Christine Morse (D-Texas Township), a member of the Kalamazoo delegation and Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Health and Human Services, in a press release. 

The program has already received financial investment from the community. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation made an inaugural pledge of $500,000 in May, followed by pledges from the United Way of South Central Michigan and the Bronson Health Foundation. 

Kalamazoo Rx Kids also recently received a $5 million investment from the Stryker Johnston Foundation, a private family foundation based in Kalamazoo that invests in and partners with organizations and groups working to end intergenerational poverty in Kalamazoo County. 

Through the investments from Michigan Legislature, maternal health experts, and local community leaders, the first year of the planned five-year Kalamazoo Rx Kids program is fully funded. 

“The momentum is tremendous,” said Dr. Hanna. 

“So often in the world of policy, you have windows of opportunity to make a difference, and I think we are trying to take advantage of those windows to be able to create more impact.”