LAKE COUNTY — A popular childhood assistance program is expanding to Lake County, where local officials say the support could make a massive difference in the community for families and new babies.
The Rx Kids program gives cash support to new and expecting mothers — $1,500 before birth and $500 a month for a baby’s first six or 12 months.
Lake County has the second highest poverty rate in Michigan, around one-third of residents. The statewide and national averages are closer to 20%.
Britney Wright, Home Visiting Director for the region’s health department, says that she’s seen promising signs from other communities that Rx Kids has worked with.
“It helps with maternal and paternal stress, helps decrease substance-use disorder and intimate partner violence, and has helped prove to increase access to health services, including well-baby checks and maternal prenatal appointments,” she said.
Rx Kids hasn’t yet shared enrollment figures for Lake County, where the program kicked off last week.
But in nearby Clare County, the Rx Kids program has distributed more than $300,000 to 123 families since August of last year.
The initiative received hundreds of millions of dollars from this year’s state budget and could expand to more communities in the coming years.