Michigan House hears testimony on baby cash payment program amid Trump ‘baby bonuses' proposal
When moms get cash payments to help navigate pregnancy and in the first months after giving birth, they consistently use the funds to attend more medical appointments with their child and make choices that lead to better outcomes for them and their baby, Rx Kids Director Dr. Mona Hanna told Michigan lawmakers Tuesday.
Hanna told the Michigan state House Families and Veterans Committee that has been the result for moms who've accessed cash payments through Rx Kids, which began as a program to address infant poverty in Flint, but has expanded to Kalamazoo and the Upper Peninsula, with other locations in Michigan to be served soon.
Hanna, a Flint-area physician who sounded alarm bells about the long-term health impacts of the Flint Water Crisis in 2014, said the number one thing moms buy with the $500 monthly cash payments the program gives moms after they give birth is diapers. And in Flint, Hanna said the program has distributed $10 million to more than 2,000 families and has seen reductions in smoking in mothers, increased birth weights and less reports of abuse or neglect.
The program is funded with money from the state government as well as local governments and private groups and also affords participants a one-time $1,500 cash payment during pregnancy.
'When we think about child welfare, it is one of the biggest cost items in our state budget and in our federal budget,' Hanna said. 'The peak age of child welfare involvement is zero to one, that first year of life, more than double any other age of life and that's largely because of poverty.'
And as Michigan officials on the local and statewide level seek solutions to grow the state's population as it's predicted to decline over the next few years, the Trump administration is looking to address declining birth rates.
A recent proposal by the Trump administration of a $5,000 'baby bonus' for moms after they give birth has made headlines around the country and is being matched by public discourse surrounding the high costs associated with pregnancy, giving birth and parenthood.
A group of Michigan Senate Democrats stood alongside Hanna at the state Capitol in march as they unveiled their plan to decrease the costs of parenthood in Michigan, which included interest in making Rx Kids a statewide program.
When asked if the Republican-led House would consider supporting Senate Democrats plan or propose their own population growth plan during an April 24 news conference, Michigan Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) didn't respond directly to questioning about the potential of 'baby bonuses' from the Michigan Advance, but said the chamber is reviewing its options and is working on policies to make life more affordable for Michiganders across the board.
Discussions about the state budget are being had right now, but chair of the House Families and Veterans Committee, Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson), didn't confirm with the Advance after the Tuesday committee meeting if a statewide expansion of baby cash payments is on the table.
'I think it's important that we bring in organizations that are here to help families. It's not that we agree with everything that goes on. It's just that we need to hear from different agencies who are out there and what they're doing for families and babies and what's available,' Schmaltz said. 'We will take all the information and we'll sift through it and find out what works, what doesn't work and what should be funded and what shouldn't be funded.'
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