A program that provides cash for several months directly to Michigan families with newborn children has expanded into Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township. 

The Rx Kids program took this step in partnership with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency, following up on the introduction of the program earlier this year to families in Pontiac. 

"This expansion reflects our commitment to ensuring every child in Michigan has a strong start in life," said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. "We are thrilled to welcome Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township into the Rx Kids family." 

With the addition of those two communities, Rx Kids is available for families in 11 Michigan communities. 

"Rx Kids demonstrates the importance of ensuring our youngest residents have the resources needed for a healthy start," Oakland County Commissioner Ann Erickson Gault (D-Troy), said in the announcement. 

Rx Kids launched in 2024 in Flint. The program aims at giving money to families with newborns, timed to when they are likely to need it most, without income restrictions or delays until tax filing season. Rx Kids learned that 48% of its participants ran into a financial hurdle with family expenses during that time frame, and the stipends they received helped pay for those bills. 

"For many families, income plunges and poverty spikes right before a child is born and remains high throughout the first year," the program's website explained.

The mothers who are eligible from Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township will receive $1,500 during pregnancy and then $500 per month during the baby's first six months of life. Children who were born on or after Sept. 1, 2025, along with expectant mothers, are eligible.