Dr. Mona Hanna spends time with one of the youngest attendees at a 2023 press conference announcing $16.5 million in funding for the Flint pediatrician’s Rx Kids initiative. The program will be available in Delta County and the entire U.P. next week to give money to new parents. (Photo courtesy of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health at Michigan State University via Michigan Advance)

ESCANABA — In 10 additional counties in the Upper Peninsula, expectant mothers and parents of newborns will soon be eligible to enroll in Rx Kids — which provides “prescriptions” of cash to help young families get through one the toughest periods of life. This will mark the largest geographic expansion of any Rx Kids launch to date.

Rx Kids is the nation’s first-ever community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, and so far exists only in Michigan.

Beginning Monday at 9:00 a.m., families who reside in Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, Menominee and Ontonagon counties can enroll to receive a one-time $1,500 payment during mid-pregnancy and $500 per month for the first six months of their baby’s life. All expectant mothers must be at least 16 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment or have an infant born on or after March 1, 2026.

“This is for everyone, and there is no strings attached, because this is how we best care and love each other. Rx Kids supports moms and babies when they need it most, during their time of economic hardship,” said founder Mona Hanna when the program was introduced to five counties in the Eastern U.P. one year ago.

Rx Kids first began in Flint in 2024. Since seeing success there, it’s been introduced to other areas of Michigan incrementally.

A mother kisses her infant son. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Led by Michigan State University and administered by cash-transferring nonprofit GiveDirectly, “Rx Kids has efficiently delivered direct support to thousands of families across dozens of communities–strengthening family financial security, improving maternal and infant health, and boosting local economies,” says RxKids. “Rx Kids is built on a strong network of partners who bring together academic leadership, community expertise, and public-private investment to make this vision possible.”

The expansion across the U.P. comes less than a month after Rx Kids launched in the City of Detroit, the largest city yet. With the addition of Detroit and the central and western Upper Peninsula, Rx Kids is predicted to reach more than 18,000 babies born each year.

“Local Community Champions for Rx Kids in the 10 new U.P. counties include Dickinson/Iron District Health Department, Marquette County Health Department, Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties, and Western Upper Peninsula Health Department,” announced MSU in a press release this week. “LMAS District Health Department will serve as a regional champion for Rx Kids in the UP, building on more than a year of success in support outreach, engagement, and celebration in the Eastern U.P.”

A virtual press conference held over Zoom on Tuesday will include speakers Dr. Mona Hanna, Rx Kids Founding Director and Associate Dean of Public Health, Michigan State University; State Senator Ed McBroom; Nick Derusha, Director and Health Officer, LMAS District Health Department; Austin Lowes, Chairman of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Mike Snyder, Health Officer, Public Health Delta and Menominee Counties; Megan Murphy, CEO, Superior Health Foundation; and a local Upper Peninsula mom.