Michigan Doctor Who Revealed Flint Water Crisis Now Takes on Child Poverty
Published by The Guardian, April 25, 2024
In 2015, Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha alerted the world that children were being poisoned by lead in the water of her home town of Flint, Michigan. Now, as Flint marks the 10-year anniversary of the crisis, she’s set her sights on another target: the underlying poverty that she says allowed it to all happen.
Forum Explores Flint’s Effort to Combat Poverty Using Cash Payments for Mothers and Infants
Published by Michigan Advance, April 15, 2024
Rx Kids pulls funding from a mechanism called non-recurring short-term benefits, which provides cash aid to families for a short amount of time during an acute economic crisis. So what’s the acute economic crisis? Childbirth. Luke Shaefer explains that families are poorest at childbirth, as income and earnings go down and expenses rise. Everybody knows having a baby is expensive, and so that perfect storm means families are the poorest in that first year.
Every New Mom in this U.S. City is Now Getting Cash Aid for a Year
Published by NPR, March 12, 2024
Flint, Mich., has one of the country’s highest rates of child poverty — something that got a lot of attention during the city’s lead water crisis a decade ago. And a pediatrician who helped expose that lead problem has now launched a first-of-its-kind move to tackle poverty: giving every new mother $7,500 in cash aid over a year.
A Cash-assistance Program in Flint is Giving New Moms some Breathing Room
Published by The ‘Gander, March 12, 2024
Pregnancy brings its challenges, but being pregnant in Flint during the water crisis made things all the more difficult for Alana Turner. “I never realized how strange the things we went through with the water crisis were, because it just became a part of daily living,” Turner said.
All You Need is Love – A Valentine’s Day Recap of Launch Bash
Published by Rx Kids, February 22, 2024
On Feb. 14, 2024, we hosted our “All You Need is Love” bash to publicly celebrate the launch of the Flint Rx Kids program. Rx Kids is the first citywide cash program to support infants in the U.S. located in Flint, Michigan.
$400K Paid So Far to 350 Flint Moms in First Month of Pathfinding RxKids Program
Published by East Village Magazine, February 20, 2024
More than $400,000 has been paid to approximately 350 mothers in Flint in just over the first month of the nationally pathfinding program RxKids, the program’s coordinators announced at a celebration on February 14.
A New Anti-poverty Program in Flint, Michigan, Gives Cash to New Moms
Published by PBS Newshour, February 16, 2024
When Alana Turner’s son, Ace, was a baby, she had to boil bottled water to give him a warm bath — the water from the tap was contaminated with lead.
Why One City’s War on Child Poverty Should Matter to Voters in November
Published by Huffington Post, February 16, 2024
A new program in Flint, Michigan, could be a model for the rest of America ― but only if the right officials are in place to support it.
Created Equal: Flint’s Rx Kids Program Aims to Abolish Childhood Poverty
Published by WDET, February 14, 2024
The program will provide every pregnant mother in Flint cash payments during pregnancy and throughout the child’s first year to accommodate families’ basic needs.
Moms and Babies Were Struggling in Flint, Michigan. Cash Offers a Lifeline of Hope.
Published by USA Today, February 14, 2024
In one of the poorest cities in our nation, Rx Kids offers a bold solutions-driven effort to eliminate infant poverty.
The Case for Spending Way More on Babies
Published by The Atlantic, February 14, 2024
Why America should give kids cash.
Rx Kids Launch Bash: FREE Valentine’s Day Community Celebration
Published by Rx Kids, February 6, 2024
On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2024, Rx Kids, the first citywide maternal and infant cash prescription program in the nation is hosting a FREE community-wide celebration.
Published by Speaking of Kids, January 31, 2024
Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” chat with Mona Hanna-Attisha and Luke Shaefer about Rx Kids, the root causes of health equity, and finding new ways to prevent poverty through opportunity.
Published by BCBSM Foundation, January 26, 2024
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Foundation is helping to fund Rx Kids through a $75,000 Investigator Initiated grant. The award helps support critical gaps in health-related research.
Enrollment Open: Flint Makes History with Launch of Rx Kids
Published by Rx Kids, January 10, 2024
On January 10, 2024, at 10 am, City of Flint pregnant moms and newborns started enrolling in Rx Kids, the first citywide maternal and infant cash prescription program in the nation.
New Program Will Aid, Empower Flint Mothers
Published by WNEM, December 25, 2023
In early January, enrollment information will roll out on how every pregnant person in the city of Flint in 2024 can get access to a resource to help even the playing field in taking care of their children.
“New Lens on Poverty” Conversation Hosted by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Published in Early Learning Nation, November 8, 2023
Mona Hanna-Attisha and Luke Shaefer share their playbook for a new cash allowance program in Flint and how this initiative can make a difference in reducing poverty.
Newsmaker: Rx Kids Flint a Prescription to End Infant Poverty
Published by ABC12 News, October 23, 2023
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha speaks with Dawn Jones about Rx Kids on ABC12 Newsmaker.
Published by East Village Magazine, August 4, 2023
Pregnant women in Flint will receive $1,500 each, no strings attached, through a new program called Rx Kids announced by the State of Michigan and other partners this week.
Dr. Mona’s Rx Kids Program Gets $16.5 M from State; Largest Investment Yet
Published in MLive, August 3, 2023
Funding from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant serves as the largest investment the program has received.
‘A Dream Come True’: In Flint, Every Pregnant Person is About to Receive Cash Through Rx Kids
Published in Michigan Advance, August 1, 2023
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed the $57.4 billion general government budget, which includes the Rx Kids money that’s coming from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds.
Michigan’s New Anti-poverty Effort: $7,500 for Flint Moms, No Strings Attached
Published in Bridge Michigan, August 1, 2023
The program touted as the first-of-its-kind in the nation, Rx Kids is a $55 million experiment to test whether cash payments protect children from toxic stress and break cycles of poverty.
Senator John Cherry Announces $16.5 Million State Funding for Rx Kids to Tackle Poverty in Flint
Published in Mid-Michigan Now, July 31, 2023
On Monday, July 31, Senator Cherry discussed the state funding included in the 2024 state budget with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
$16.5 Million Awarded to Flint Rx Kids Program
Published by ABC12 News, July 31, 2023
Rx Kids, the program at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint, is scheduled to receive more than $16 million. The announcement came from state leaders on Monday.
MSU Receives $423M in State Funding – Budget Includes $16.5 Million for Rx Kids
Published in MSU Today, July 21, 2023
State funding of $16.5 million will help launch Rx Kids, the first citywide effort in the U.S. aimed at tackling poverty to improve health outcomes for Flint mothers and babies.
Published by Ruth Mott Foundation, July 20, 2023
The Ruth Mott Foundation’s award of $1.2 million over three years is the largest single grant commitment in the history of the Foundation.
Pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha’s Vision of “What We Can Do Next”
Published by Early Learning Nation, June 29, 2023
Early Learning Nation magazine caught up with Dr. Hanna-Attisha to learn more about her new organization, her thinking and what drives her.
$500,000 Grant to Support Moms and Babies in Flint
Published by Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, June 16, 2023
Michigan State University receives 1 of 42 grants awarded from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.
Rx Kids Aims to Lift Up the Children and Families of Flint
Published in Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity, May 31, 2023
Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of the MSU-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, and Luke Shaefer, Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the University of Michigan, spoke to Spotlight about RxKids.
Listen: An Untraditional Solution to Alleviate Child Poverty in Flint
Detroit Today – WDET-FM, May 19, 2023
The program aims to financially support parents by providing them with a cash allowance of $1,500 each month.
Flint Showed Us the Dangers of Poverty. Now It Could Show Us How to Fight It.
Published in HuffPost, May 5, 2023
Mona Hanna-Attisha says she would like to protect her patients from poverty in the same way she protects them from infectious disease, malnutrition and other health hazards.
Mott Foundation Pledges $15M to Initiative that will Provide Cash Payments to Flint Mothers
Published in Flint Side, April 30, 2023
Dr. Hanna-Attisha and the Rx Kids team are currently raising money now to meet the $15 million Mott Foundation match. Enrollment for the program is expected to open in 2024.
‘An Infusion of Joy’: How a Flint Pediatrician Hopes to Improve Health and Dismantle Poverty
Published in Michigan Advance, April 30, 2023
In Flint, where systemic racism and governmental failures left the Black-majority city to drink lead-contaminated water beginning in 2014 — a crisis that Hanna-Attisha’s research helped to expose.
Grant Aims to Provide Flint Moms, Babies with Cash Payments to Improve Health
Published in Detroit Free Press, April 25, 2023
Moms and babies in Flint may soon be part of an innovative citywide program that prescribes cash assistance as an answer to health disparities.
Cash for Flint Mothers. Mott to Offer Up Up to $7500 to Help Baby’s First Year.
Published in Bridge Michigan, April 21, 2023
It is the first of its kind in the nation, according to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which will grant up to $15 million over three years to Michigan State University to support the program, Rx Kids.
Mott Grant Could Mean $15M to Allowance Program for Kids, Expectant Moms in Flint
Published in MLive, April 20, 2023
“Early childhood science has demonstrated the lifelong consequences of adversity, but also the promise of bold, preventative and justice-driven interventions,” Hanna-Attisha said.
Rx Kids Program Aims to Tackle Poverty to Improve the Health of City of Flint Moms and Babies
Published by MSU Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, April 20, 2023
Rx Kids will be the first citywide program in the U.S. to address maternal and infant poverty with the novel approach of unconditional cash allowances to all Flint pregnant moms and babies.
Published by Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, April 20, 2023
“We’re supporting Rx Kids because of the boldness of its approach to significantly reducing childhood poverty and associated negative health effects,” said Ridgway White, Mott Foundation president and CEO.
Dr. Mona’s Prescription for Helping Flint Kids? $500 Infant Cash Allowance for Entire City
Published in MLive, March 14, 2023
The program is supported by the Pediatric Public Health Initiative, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, the Greater Flint Health Coalition, GiveDirectly, and other residents and nonprofit organizations.
Watch: Pediatrician Advocates Allowance for Pregnant Women, Children in Flint
Published in WNEM Digital, March 14, 2023
During Monday’s city council meeting, Hanna-Attisha told council members 50 percent of Flint children live in poverty, which she said affects long-term physical and mental health and education.
Opinion: Rx for Children’s Health: Renew the Expanded Child Tax Credit
Published in The Hill, December 14, 2022
“Poverty is one of the strongest risk factors for bad health — increasing the rates of asthma, obesity, developmental delay, infant mortality and injuries.”