Detroit mayoral candidates want direct payment programs
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Both candidates for Detroit mayor want to get cash directly in the hands of families.
Why it matters: As more than half of Detroit children live in poverty, per Census data, programs providing money — instead of services or goods — are growing across the U.S. to combat poverty.
State of play: Candidates City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. both mentioned plans around direct payments during a mid-October debate.
🎒 Kinloch would create a fund for children, depositing a seed investment of $1,000 for every child born, raised and educated in Detroit.
- They would get the funds once they are 18 and graduate from high school or get their GED.
- Kinloch's campaign points to "baby bonds" legislation introduced at the federal level.
- It says the program's estimated $8 million per year could be funded through Kinloch's office of philanthropy and public-private partnerships.
Zoom out: Kinloch's proposed Department of Opportunity and Empowerment would coordinate enrollment in both public and private financial assistance programs for low-income residents, identifying eligible people and getting their applications in.
👶 Sheffield wants to partner with Flint-born Rx Kids and bring it to Detroit. The program gives mothers $1,500 during pregnancy and then $500 a month for up to a year after birth.
- Families in several locations across Michigan can apply, but not Detroit.
- The state budget set aside $270 million to expand Rx Kids.
What they're saying: "We know these cash infusions do work, but I think even more exciting … is this wraparound services approach, so not just providing programs, but packaging programs for residents," Sheffield senior policy adviser David Bowser tells Axios.
- A new Office of Human, Homeless and Family Services would allow families to complete a needs assessment and apply for multiple programs at once, hopefully including Rx Kids, Bowser says.