Rx Kids program aims to tackle poverty to improve health of Flint moms and babies

<p>Led by partners <strong>Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha</strong> at the MSU-Hurley Pediatric Public Health Initiative and <strong>Dr. Luke Shaefer</strong>, faculty director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions center, <a href="https://msuhurleypphi.org/RxKids/index.html"><strong>Rx Kids</strong></a> is a transformational effort to address child poverty and health equity.  </p><p>Consistent with practices in other countries, Rx Kids boldly tackles a root cause of health disparities: poverty. A first-of-its-kind program, Rx Kids will provide unconditional cash allowances to pregnant moms and babies in Flint.</p><p>Rx Kids—a first-in-the-nation program—is the solution to uplifting babies and young children out of poverty and into better health. In partnership with health care providers and community-engaged outreach, Rx Kids plans to prescribe all expectant mothers in Flint a one-time prenatal allowance ($1,500) and all infants (0-1 year) monthly allowances ($500/month). What sets Rx Kids apart from existing cash allowance programs is its intentional impact on maternal and infant health outcomes at a community level.  </p><p>The anticipated reach of Rx Kids within the City of Flint during the intervention period (2024-2028) is over 6,000 families. </p><p>“Rx Kids is something that has never been done before,” says Hanna-Attisha. “It is a citywide effort to disrupt poverty and improve health equity. Flint is the poorest city in the state. Our child poverty rates are about three times state and national averages and families are most poor when the babies are just born. Right before birth and in that first year of life, poverty spikes.</p><p>“And for me as a pediatrician, that is maddening because that is the same time that child development is the most critical. Babies' brains actually double in size in that first year of life and that's when families are the poorest. It's so frustrating that we just band-aid so many problems that are associated with poverty and that we don't do something preventative