Pontiac—On October 15, Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, surpassed $1 million dollars in no-strings-attached cash prescriptions given to mothers and babies in the City of Pontiac. Over 400 families and 250 babies have benefited from the program which provides expectant mothers with $1,500 during pregnancy and babies with $500 a month for 6 months after birth. Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency (OLHSA) serves as Pontiac’s local champion, supporting program outreach and registration for residents.
“Pontiac’s most precious resource is our people,” says Pontiac City Council President Michael McGuinness. “And Rx Kids is really an investment in Pontiac’s future.”
The program was originally launched in Flint, Michigan in 2024 by Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, a pediatrician and director of the Michigan State University-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative.
“Poverty is at the root of so much illness, especially for babies and new moms,” said Dr. Hanna. “Rx Kids is a prescription to fight poverty and it is working.”
In addition to Flint and Pontiac, Rx Kids is now in 11 communities across the state, reaching thousands of families in Michigan and measurably transforming health and economic outcomes.
Research published Sept. 10, 2025 in the American Journal of Public Health found that Rx Kids “is associated with improved economic stability, mental health, and well-being” and “provides a replicable model for efficiently addressing perinatal poverty and improving health.”
“Because of Rx Kids, Pontiac families are able to keep a roof over their heads,” said Erin Casey, director of Pontiac Funders Collaborative (PFC), an Rx Kids funder and an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. “They’re able to buy diapers and groceries. It is quite literally life-changing. To have surpassed the million-dollar mark in assistance for Pontiac families is really something to celebrate.”
The Alix Foundation, which focuses on health, education, and maternal issues in Michigan, is also an Rx Kids Funder. “The Alix Foundation is proud to help support this innovative and profoundly transformational initiative,” said Alix Foundation President Christine Alix. “It not only helps individual families, it also benefits the entire community.”
Infants born on or after May 1, 2025, and expectant mothers who live in the City of Pontiac or other participating locations are eligible to apply. For more information visit https://RxKids.org.
Rx Kids is a program of Michigan State University Pediatric Public Health Initiative, in collaboration with Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, and administered by GiveDirectly.