MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — A program designed to financially support mothers and babies is expanding across Michigan.
This summer, mothers living in 20 more communities will be able to enroll in Rx Kids. The program provides mothers with $1,500 during their pregnancy and $500 a month during a baby's infancy to help cover essentials like diapers, formula and rent.
The program first started in Flint in 2024, and a Kalamazoo neighborhood was added in 2025. Now, Battle Creek, the 49507 zip code in Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Muskegon Heights will be included. View the full list of included communities here.
"This is not a program for people that are struggling, this is a program for places that are struggling," Dr. Mona Hanna, Director of Rx Kids and Associate Dean of Public Health at the MSU College of Human Medicine, told FOX 17. "Both Muskegon and Muskegon Heights have some substantial kind of challenges for healthy populations. Both those communities have some of the highest child poverty rates, some of the highest Medicaid birth rates, which makes it really hard to be healthy."
Rx Kids is funded by dollars from public sources and private investments. Because of this, the $500 payment period varies across communities, ranging from six months to the first year of a child's life.
The first round of enrollment begins June 1, and the second starts July 1.
WATCH: Learn more about the Rx Kids program
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