About this episode:

Ten years ago, Flint, Michigan was in the headlines for its catastrophic water crisis. Now, it’s on the map for a very different public health story: the success of the country’s first unconditional cash program for expecting mothers and babies in their first year of life. The concept is not new, however—it’s rooted in decades of evidence that cash programs help address root causes of poverty and can truly give kids a better start in life. Note: This episode was recorded in late October, prior to the 2024 presidential election. Note: Donations to Rx Kids can be made via GiveDirectly.

Guest:

Dr. Mona Hanna is a pediatrician, the associate dean for public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and the director of Rx Kids.

Dr. Miriam Laker-Oketta is the global director of research for GiveDirectly—the program that administers Rx Kids.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• Rx Kids—Flint, Michigan’s Cash Allowances for New Parents—Public Health On Call (September, 2023)

• Results from the Rx Kids Participant Survey & Maternal Wellbeing Research Study (pdf)

• Every new mom in this U.S. city is now getting cash aid for a year—NPR

• A New Kind of Disaster Aid: Pay People Cash, Before Disaster Strikes—NY Times

• Protecting the health of children with universal child cash benefits—ScienceDirect

• As federal aid shrinks, communities try new ways to tackle child poverty on their own—NPR

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