Caroline Doennez, right, smiles as she holds up her 9-month-old daughter, Violet, during the Flint Rx Kids Baby Parade event last Friday in Flint. (AP photo)

FLINT — A procession of mothers wearing red sashes, pushing strollers and tending to toddlers made their way last Friday to a little festival in Flint, where families received diapers and kids played.

It was called a “baby parade.”

The sashes indicated the women were participants of a growing program in Michigan that helps pregnant women and new moms by giving them cash over the first year of their children’s lives. Launched in 2024, the program comes at a time when many voters worry over high child care costs and President Donald Trump’s administration floats policy to reverse the declining birth rate.

Backed by a mix of state, local and philanthropic money, Rx Kids gives mothers of newborns up to $7,500, with no income requirements and no rules for how the money is spent. Supporters believe the program could be a model for mitigating the high cost of having children in the U.S.

“There’s all kinds of reasons, no matter what your political affiliation or ideology is, to support this,” said state Sen. John Damoose, a Republican and ardent supporter of the program.

How the program works

To qualify, women need to prove they live in a participating location and that they are pregnant, but don’t have to share details about their income.

It’s designed to be simple.

Pregnant women receive $1,500 before delivery and $500 every month for the first six to 12 months of their babies’ lives, depending on the program location.

Dr. Mona Hanna, a pediatrician, associate dean for public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and the program’s founding director, said that window is a time of great economic vulnerability for new parents — and a critical developmental period for babies.

Most participants need diapers, formula, breast feeding supplies and baby clothes but every family’s needs are different. The monthly payment can also help buy food and cover rent, utilities and transportation.

For some moms, the extra cash allows them to afford child care and return to work. For others, it allows them to stay home longer.

The program so far is available in Flint, Pontiac, Kalamazoo and five counties in the Upper Peninsula. By fall, it will expand to a rural central Michigan county and several cities near Detroit.

Hanna said the main piece of feedback she hears is that the program should be bigger. She’s heard from lawmakers and others hoping to start similar programs in other states.

What’s the impact

Hanna said the program’s data shows nearly all pregnant women in Flint have signed up since it became available.

The locations were designed to target low-income families, though there is no income requirement. Luke Shaefer, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan and a co-founder of Rx Kids, said they wanted to eliminate any stigma or barriers that discourage people from signing up.

The founders also want mothers to feel celebrated, hence the parade.

“For so long moms have been vilified and not supported,” Hanna said.

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Associated Press writer Mike Householder contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.