Rx Kids: A Prescription for Health, Hope, and Opportunity

CASH FOR PREGNANT MOMS AND BABIES

CONTENTS 3 First Citywide Cash Prescription Program for Mothers and Infants 4 Catalyst for Change 5 Research and Impact 6 Critical Investments 7 Michigan as a Model 8 Testimonials: Pursuing Possibility 10 Leading the Nation 12 Prescribing Hope 14 Endorsers 16 Community Impact

Boldly Endorsing Rx Kids “We’re supporting Rx Kids because of the boldness of its approach to significantly reducing childhood poverty and associated negative health effects.”

RIDGWAY WHITE, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF THE CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION Pictured: Ridgway White and Mona Hanna-Attisha

ONE GOAL: END INFANT POVERTY “At a city-wide scale, Rx Kids is the next generation of cash allowance innovations.”

ECONOMIC SECURITIES PROJECT

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First Citywide Cash Prescription Program for Mothers and Infant Flint is the poorest city in Michigan, with one in every two children growing up in poverty. In many neighborhoods, more than 80% of families with young kids live in poverty.

Disrupting Poverty More potent than any prescribed pill, Rx Kids aims to disrupt the pathogen of poverty with a first-in-the-nation program of prenatal and infant cash prescription for the entire city.

Early childhood science has demonstrated the devastating, lifelong consequences of adversity, but also the promise of science-based, community-driven solutions.

With a village of support, Rx Kids launched in January 2024!

Rx Kids positions Flint and Michigan as a national leader – sparking a powerful vehicle for health, hope, and opportunity.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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FLINTRXKIDS.COM

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Catalyst for Change For most people, a child’s birth is a joyous event. For too many families, though, income plunges and poverty spikes right before a child is born and remains high throughout the first year.

Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Equitablegrowth.org

one-time

$1,500 PRENATAL CASH ALLOWANCE [ALL EXPECTANT MOMS]

monthly

$500

INFANT CASH ALLOWANCE [0-1 YEAR]

five-years for

+6,000

FAMILIES IN THE CITY OF FLINT

The Science is Clear Infancy is the most critical period of child development, and poverty—especially deep and concentrated poverty— can dramatically warp a child’s life course.

What if we could change these outcomes?

What if we could change the entire trajectory of a community, of a state, of a nation?

We can. And together, we will through Rx Kids.

Rx Kids—the First Program of its Kind in the U.S. RX Kids 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 will prescribe ALL expectant mothers a one-time prenatal cash prescription ($1,500) and all infants (0-1 year) monthly cash prescriptions ($500/month).

Serving ALL Expectant Moms in the City of Flint What sets Rx Kids apart from existing cash allowance programs is its intentional impact on maternal and infant health outcomes at a community level. Rx Kids is serving ALL expectant mothers and infants in the City of Flint more than 6,000 families.

Flint’s profound economic and health inequities, coupled with its small population (<1,200 births each year) and community-partnered academic infrastructure, make it ideal for this unique program.

The innovative design and public-private partnership of Rx Kids are already informing state and federal policy – guaranteeing impact beyond one city.

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Research and Impact In partnership with the community, Rx Kids research is led by experts at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

As the first-ever prenatal and infant cash prescription program, the research from Rx Kids fills a scientific gap and will inform state and national policy around maternal-infant health, early childhood investments, economic and racial justice, and health equity.

The comprehensive research plan includes an evaluation of individual outcomes, as well as administrative and population-level data sources.

A similar demographic, non-Flint control group, is serving as a robust comparison.

When considering the lifelong and multi-generational consequences of exposure to early adversity, long-term outcomes may include kindergarten readiness, economic productivity, societal savings/ROI, health care savings, and other longitudinal health and mental health measures (i.e., chronic disease rates, life expectancy, etc.).

Evidence Shows that Unconditional Cash has Immediate and Long-term Positive Impact

“This is transformational work that will change the trajectory for children and families positively for generations to come. We wholeheartedly support this life-changing and life-affirming work.”

CLAUDNYSE D. HOLLOMAN, VOICES FOR CHILDREN ADVOCACY CENTER PRESIDENT & CEO

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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Critical Investments A Public-private Partnership Over $43 million has been raised for Rx Kids, including an inaugural $15 million challenge grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

A $55 million total investment is needed to fund five years of Rx Kids with over 80% of funds going to cash prescriptions.

Will you join our founding donors and help to close the $12 million funding gap?

$55M INVESTMENT NEEDED ($11M / YEAR)

GROWING FAMILY OF FUNDERS

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80% OF FUNDS GO DIRECTLY TO CASH ALLOWANCES

Michigan as a Model Michigan is generating major buzz as an innovative model for the nation on how to come alongside children and families during the critical first year of life.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant was originally intended to aid very poor families with cash assistance and support. Because of TANF’s flexibility, expenditures on cash aid have plummeted; in Michigan, it is just 6.4% of total TANF spending.

On July 31, 2023, the State of Michigan made a bold commitment of $16.5 million in TANF funds for Rx Kids.

State support ensures a successful launch for Rx Kids and charts an innovative path for sustainability and rapid state and national replication.

“We are thrilled that the State of Michigan has committed to supporting Rx Kids, a program that will ensure expectant mothers and babies have the resources they need to thrive.

We hope and expect that more states will follow Michigan’s lead in spending TANF dollars as they are meant to be spent - not as earmarks that benefit the few, but as dollars in the hands of people who really need it. At a time when only 1 in 4 TANF dollars actually make it into people’s pockets, this legislation represents a new social contract and has the potential to transform tens of thousands of lives.”

SARAH MORAN U.S. DIRECTOR OF GIVEDIRECTLY

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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Pursuing Possibility “Rx Kids is the type of support that will fill a void and offer an intentional level of added support by encouraging all of those important milestones and well-care visits for mom and baby. This is the type of program that can enhance the success rates of healthy kids and healthy families for generations to come.”

ASHLEY N. STROZIER, FLINT MOM

To further change the poverty narrative, drive policy change, and achieve justice, Rx Kids is paired with community-driven storytelling through art and music: harnessing the power of the arts to capture the joy and human impact of Rx Kids through community engagement and events.

“I am a parent and citizen of the city of Flint who has been helping Dr. Mona for almost a year on Rx Kids. When she first introduced it to the group, I instantly knew that it would be a huge task to achieve. With consistency and committed effort, the impossible is becoming a reality for the kids and residents of the city of Flint.”

DARWIN HENCE, FLINT DAD

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CHAMPIONING A HEALTHIER TOMORROW WITH COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS.

“Rx Kids will be a game changer for our patients.”

DR. OMARI YOUNG, HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY RESIDENCY DIRECTOR

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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Leading the Nation

REIMAGINING HOW SOCIETY SUPPORTS FAMILIES “Countries across the globe have adopted unconditional child cash benefits and seen child poverty plummet and health improve, with some of the biggest impacts for infants. The historic 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit had the same effects in the U.S., but it was not renewed. Flint is leading the nation by building on this evidence, and creating an easy-to-replicate playbook for how we care for our youngest kids.”

H. LUKE SHAEFER UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN POVERTY SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR

“As a mother of one who is expecting another bundle of joy into our family soon, I deeply understand the challenges that families and kids in Flint face. This is a life-changing program for moms in Flint. To me it’s not just a program, it’s a lifeline. And a promise of support for every mother in our community.”

ALANA TURNER, FLINT MOM EXPECTING HER SECOND CHILD

“Investing in strong families is an investment in Flint’s future. Rx Kids will support mothers and children in Flint when they are most vulnerable. This blessing will lift families out of poverty and improve health outcomes.

Our prayer is that we will improve maternal and infant health, and help Flint families raise strong, healthy babies.”

SHELDON NEELEY, CITY OF FLINT MAYOR

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“Rx Kids will give every new mom in Flint the freedom and flexibility to raise their babies while paying the bills and putting food on the table.

It will give every child born in Flint a fair shot at a bright future. We know that growing up in poverty is one of the leading causes of poor health, impacting everything from your ability to learn in school, graduate, and get a good-paying job.

Rx Kids is an investment that will benefit the entire community. We know that happy, healthy babies become happier, healthier adults.”

GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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PRESCRIBING HOPE Rx Kids Partners

Rx Kids is led by Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, a pediatrician, and director of the Michigan State UniversityHurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative.

A nationally recognized child health researcher and advocate, Dr. Hanna-Attisha launched the communitypartnered initiative in response to the Flint water crisis to improve outcomes for kids. She is also the Associate Dean for Public Health and C. S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis and leading recovery efforts. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the author of the New York Times 100 most notable book, What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City.

Grounded in community-based participation, Dr. HannaAttisha and the Pediatric Public Health Initiative work the many local and national partners to boldly improve child health equity and share best practices.

H. Luke Shaefer, Ph.D. is the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. There he directs Poverty Solutions, a U-M presidential initiative that partners with communities to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty. Poverty Solutions has a proven track record of collaborating on novel evidence-based policy changes in the City of Detroit, with the State of Michigan, and nationally.

The New York Times named Shaefer’s co-authored book, $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, one of 100 Notable Books of 2015, and he has received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. The New York Times and TIME Magazine, among other outlets, have credited Shaefer’s collaborative research as one of the driving forces behind the expanded Child Tax Credit of 2021 that led to a historic decline in child poverty. Shaefer’s new coauthored book, The Injustice of Place, highlights poor communities like Flint, threading their common histories together and offering solutions to community resilience.

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“This project fundamentally re-imagines how society can support new mothers and babies, and care-giving more broadly. Infancy is a critical time during which a child’s lifelong trajectory is determined - we want to get kids off on the right foot.”

Sarah Moran, GiveDirectly U.S. Country Director

GiveDirectly is the first – and largest – nonprofit that sends money directly to those living in poverty. They believe people deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives. GiveDirectly has been delivering cash to people living in poverty globally since 2009 and in the U.S. since 2017. Give Directly has extensive experience managing large, multi-stakeholder cash programs funded by private philanthropy, local governments, and the U.S. government.

In the last decade, GiveDirectly has delivered $580M to 1.3M recipients in 11 countries in the form of basic income and other unconditional cash transfers, including $250M to low-income households in the U.S. GiveDirectly is administering: • The world’s longest-running basic income research study ($30M, 12-year trial) • Three of the eight largest guaranteed income programs in the U.S., including the City of Chicago’s $31M ARPA-funded 1-year pilot and the Cook County, Illinois $42M ARPAfunded 2-year pilot They have collaborated with research partners on 19 randomized control trials on cash transfers in the U.S. and internationally, including two ongoing studies on large-scale guaranteed income programs in the Chicago area. Overall, the findings broadly suggest that cash transfers can increase assets and earnings, improve food security and psychological well-being, and reduce the incidence of domestic violence.

Jim Ananich is President and CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition. Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) functions as collective impact organization to serve as the neutral backbone and convening entity to lead and coordinate collaborative efforts to improve population health status, reduce and prevent disease, improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the healthcare system, and reduce health disparities. The GFHC is composed of a broad partnership of leadership from public health, physicians, hospitals, health systems, health insurers, safety-net providers (including federally qualified health centers and community mental health), business, education, community-based organizations, nonprofits, government agencies, policymakers, organized labor, faith-based partners, and committed citizens. A Flint resident, Ananich previously served two-full terms leading the Senate Democratic Caucus. In this position - and even before - he found success advancing bipartisan legislation that helped workers through economic downtimes, families have access to healthy foods and clean water, and better resources for local communities to invest in services and infrastructure.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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FLINTRXKIDS.COM

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Endorsers

“Rx Kids will help tremendously with the stress levels of bringing home a baby in all financial ways.”

EXPECTANT FLINT MOM

“Rx Kids is a pediatrician’s dream come true.”

DR. LAWRENCE REYNOLDS, RETIRED FLINT PEDIATRICIAN, GREATER FLINT HEALTH COALITION COMMUNITY HEALTH ACCESS PROGRAM MEDICAL DIRECTOR 14

“Rx Kids is just the right solution to our city’s needs. When moms and babies are supported, we uplift a community village and help the next generations for years to come.”

SHEARESE STAPLETON, MOTHERS OF JOY INSTITUTE FOR PARENTING AND FAMILY WELLNESS, INC. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

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“It’s really simple – making sure that people have the resources they need, and we are giving the trust to them to utilize those resources and solve the challenges they face every day.”

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR GARLIN GILCHRIST II

“As Flint often does, we can’t wait to spark this innovation in our town and share this model of equity and opportunity with communities across the state and nation so that all children have the resources they need to thrive.”

DR. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA

Mona Hanna-Attisha Associate Dean of Public Health Michigan State University College of Human Medicine E-mail: hannamon@msu.edu Twitter: @MonaHannaA

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