The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has announced a three-year, $15 million matching commitment to Michigan State University in support of an effort to address child poverty and health equity in Flint.

The grant will launch Rx Kids, through which families will receive a total of $7,500 in direct cash payments, including a one-time payment of $1,500 to expectant mothers in midpregnancy, followed by $500 per month for the first year of a child’s life. All pregnant women and infants who are residents of Flint will be eligible for the program, regardless of the mother’s or family’s income, and families may spend the money however they deem fit.

The project is estimated to cost a total of $55 million for five birth years of mothers and babies, with enrollment expected to begin in 2024. The Greater Flint Health Coalition will serve as a key community partner, and the initiative will be administered by GiveDirectly.

According to five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey, Flint’s overall childhood poverty rate is approximately 50 percent, far above the state and national rates of approximately 16 percent, and in many areas of the city, the poverty rate for children under age 5 exceeds 80 percent.

“We’re supporting Rx Kids because of the boldness of its approach to significantly reducing childhood poverty and associated negative health effects,” said Mott Foundation president and CEO Ridgway White. “While similar projects elsewhere have focused on smaller or more unique cohorts, nothing like this has been done on a citywide scale. We’re excited to see how it could help children and families—both in Flint and throughout the country.”

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