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Kalamazoo approves $1.5M to seed RX Kids child‑allowance pilot
Summary
The Kalamazoo City Commission approved a $1.5 million ARPA grant to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to help launch RX Kids Kalamazoo, a child-allowance pilot that staff and the foundation say will provide prenatal and follow-up cash payments to city residents and prioritize Medicaid births with additional state TANF support.
The Kalamazoo City Commission on Dec. 16 approved a $1.5 million American Rescue Plan Act grant to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to help launch RX Kids Kalamazoo, a pilot child-allowance program intended to provide direct cash supports to families following the birth of a child.
City staff and foundation representatives said the pilot will offer a prenatal payment and subsequent payments that they described as totaling $7,500 per child over the pilot period. “RX Kids Kalamazoo is a cash allowance for every birth in the city of Kalamazoo,” Kevin Ford, the city’s shared prosperity coordinator, told the commission. Foundation representatives said local fundraising has been strong; staff cited an $8.5 million goal and the foundation stated at the meeting that it had exceeded $8.9 million in commitments.
Officials said the city’s $1.5 million is intended to leverage state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds and philanthropic contributions so the pilot can support roughly 840 births in the city and be fully funded for the initial three‑year pilot. The program will use GiveDirectly’s existing infrastructure and will add a local staff person to help residents apply, according to the foundation. “We’ve exceeded $8,900,000 in funds raised,” a foundation representative said during the presentation.
Commissioners pressed staff on eligibility and targeting. Commissioners were told the program will be universally available to Kalamazoo residents who enroll after launch, but the city’s funds and the TANF match will be focused on Medicaid-covered births; staff said the application will be low-barrier and multilingual. Alyssa Stewart of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation said evaluation will be led by academic partners and that early data from Flint’s RX Kids pilot showed promising improvements in birth outcomes.
Commissioner Cooney moved approval; the motion passed with six votes in favor and one abstention. Vice Mayor Hess, Mayor Anderson, Commissioners Cooney, Hoffman, Bridal and Wilson voted yes; Commissioner Decker abstained. The foundation will act as local fiscal sponsor and staff aim for a Q1 2025 launch with enrollment to follow.
The commission’s action authorizes the city manager to finalize grant documents with the foundation; the pilot’s implementation details, launch date and enrollment process will be announced by staff and the foundation in the months ahead.
