Rx Kids is the nation’s first citywide parent and infant cash prescription program. Rx Kids aims to provide all pregnant people in participating cities with a no-strings-attached cash, reducing financial burdens and empowering parents and guardians with the freedom to make decisions that best fit their families’ needs.
Launched in Flint in January 2024, the Rx Kids team has expanded this historic, life-changing, community-partnered pilot with other Michigan communities, including several of ours in Southwest Michigan. Rx Kids cash prescriptions are awarded during pregnancy and each month throughout the baby’s first year, providing financial support during the most economically vulnerable and developmentally important time in a family and child’s life.
Eligible Berrien County residents live in:
- City of Benton Harbor
- Benton Charter Township
- City of Niles
- City of Buchanan
Not sure if you're eligible? Click here to find out.
Berrien Community Foundation holds the local Rx Kids Berrien County Fund and is thrilled to play a critical role in an innovative and impactful program that aligns so closely with our mission, vision and strategic goals.
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Program at a Glance
$1,500
during pregnancy
For Families
residing in: City of Benton Harbor, Benton Charter Township, City of Niles, City of Buchanan
+$500/month
for baby's first 6 months
For Babies
born on or after January 1, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Berrien County residents can use this map to enter their address to see if they are eligible. After entering your address, the box in the lower left corner of the screen will state "eligible" or "ineligible."
To apply for Rx Kids, you will need documents that show your identity, your residency in a participating community, and your pregnancy/guardianship status. Click here to see what documents we will accept. Note that we require two residency documents.
All documents provided should be genuine and legal. Any application received including fraudulent / forged / purchased documents will be automatically rejected.
Apply online at RxKids.org.
You are eligible for Rx Kids if you meet ALL of the following criteria:
- You are a resident of an eligible Michigan community. For Berrien County, that includes: City of Benton Harbor, Benton Charter Township, City of Niles, City of Buchanan.
- You are 18 years of age or older OR you are 16 years of age and have parental or guardian consent.
- You are currently at least 16 weeks pregnant OR you are the guardian of a child 6 months old or younger and was born after your community’s cut off.
For many families, income plunges, and poverty spikes right before a child is born and remains high throughout the first year. These first months of life are critical for a baby’s development; it’s also when their families are struggling the most. Cash prescriptions help families make ends meet, enabling them to meet basic needs. By increasing economic stability, housing stability, food security and nutrition, and healthcare uptake, these payments can improve infant and maternal health and wellbeing, and even longer-term outcomes.
A place-based program, delivering cash to every mother and infant has the potential to not only improve individual outcomes but also to increase economic activity and create a multiplier effect that benefits the community as a whole.
- Deliver the cash: Rx Kids aims to provide cash payments to every expectant person and infant in the municipalities the program serves. In doing so, we aim to improve infant and maternal health, the economic and mental wellbeing of participants, and community-wide outcomes.
- Show what’s possible for others: The city of Flint was the first Rx Kids community. Since then, the program has grown to 16+ communities. The aim is to spark a national movement to shift more resources directly to families and build a brighter future for children born into poverty.
- Change the narrative around poverty/deservedness: We’re shifting the poverty narrative around money by empowering families to make economic decisions that best fit their immediate needs. This is about dignity, love, trust and restoring the social contract.
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