A new peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that Michigan's Rx Kids program reduced child welfare investigations among Flint infants by 32% in its first year. The program launched in Flint in January 2024 and has since expanded to 42 communities across the state.

House Speaker Matt Hall and House Appropriations Committee Chair Ann Bollin are pushing to eliminate all $20 million in state funding for Rx Kids.

The numbers behind the program

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Michigan State University. Researchers compared infant outcomes in Flint before and after Rx Kids launched against 21 control cities.

Key findings from the study include:

  • The investigated allegation rate for infants in Flint dropped from 21.7% to 15.5% within the first six months of life
  • This represents a 7-percentage-point decrease, or a 32% relative reduction compared to the pre-program period
  • In contrast, control cities saw their investigated allegation rate rise from 19.5% to 20.6% during the same period
  • Researchers estimate the program prevented approximately 57 infants from experiencing a child welfare investigation in its first year alone

"Our research compared what happened in Flint before and after Rx Kids launched to what we saw in a control group and the results are clear," said lead author Dr. Sumit Agarwal, a physician and health economist at the University of Michigan. "During the first year of Rx Kids, infants in Flint experienced fewer investigations for maltreatment. These results show that providing early economic support to families can make a real difference and should challenge us to rethink how we can proactively support families."

How Rx Kids works

Rx Kids provides a $1,500 cash prescription during mid-pregnancy and $500 per month during infancy. The program is led by Michigan State University and administered by GiveDirectly through a public-private partnership. The cash support helps families cover essentials including diapers, formula, rent, and transportation to prenatal care.

"These findings, now published in JAMA Pediatrics, underscore the powerful role that economic stability plays in protecting children," said Dr. Mona Hanna, Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University. "By trusting families and investing in them during the earliest, most vulnerable period of life, we are not only improving health outcomes; we are preventing trauma before it starts. This is what community-driven public health looks like."

The legislative fight

The new research arrives as Rx Kids faces its most significant political challenge. Hall and Bollin have advocated to remove all state funding for the program, on top of significant cuts already made through a unilateral decision by House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee at the end of 2025.

Both lawmakers have made allegations about how families use the cash assistance. A report published by Rx Kids in March 2026 found virtually no spending on luxury or discretionary items.

"As a child welfare researcher, decades of evidence show that poverty is one of the strongest drivers of child maltreatment risk," said Will Schnieder, associate professor of social work at the University of Illinois and study author. "What the Rx Kids findings make clear is the flip side of that truth: when families are buffered during the economic shock of pregnancy and early infancy, fewer children are harmed. This is what real prevention looks like."

Expansion and limitations

Rx Kids is set to expand to an additional 20 communities across Michigan in summer 2026, marking the program's largest expansion to date. The program received $16.5 million in initial funding announced at a July 2023 press conference in Flint.

The study authors acknowledged limitations in the research. Only one post-intervention year, 2024, was included in the analysis. The research also examined all infants born in Flint after Rx Kids launched rather than only those who enrolled in the program, though researchers noted high uptake rates should make the estimates close to reality.

The program has also been associated with reductions in food and housing hardship, significant decreases in postpartum evictions, and improved birth outcomes including reductions in low birthweight and prematurity.