Rx Kids Publications

Publication of research allows us to continue and expand Rx Kids, and we are forever grateful for those who agree to participate in research through surveys, interviews, or other means. Sharing our research with our participants is a great privilege, and we are excited to share the following research publications with participants, community members, policy makers, researchers, and other interested parties.

Published Papers

Hanna M, Agarwal S, Shaefer HL. Unconditional Cash Transfers and Prenatal Care Utilization in Flint, Michigan. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(10):e2538406. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.38406

Hanna M, Hanna, Shaefer HL, Finegood E, Agarwal S, Zamani-Hank Y, LaChance J. Hardship and Hope: The Relationship Between Unconditional Prenatal and Infant Cash Transfers, Economic Stability, and Maternal Mental Health and Well-Being. American Journal of Public Health, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2025.308244

Shaefer HL. A New Era of Research on Prenatal and Childhood Cash Transfers and Child Health and Well-Being. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(8):e2527005. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.27005

Shaefer HL, Hanna M, Harris D, Richardson D, Laker M. Protecting the health of children with universal child cash benefits. The Lancet. 2024;404(10469):2380-2391. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02366-3

Dickson A, Medlin T, Shaefer HL, Hanna M. Universal, Unconditional Cash Prescriptions Address Perinatal Poverty to Reduce Child Maltreatment. Family Justice Journal. 2024;(3):16-23. https://www.thefamilyjusticegroup.org/family-justice-journal

Reports, White Papers, Briefs and Preprints

Rx Kids: A New Prescription for Civic Engagement, (Research Brief), November 2025. RxKids.org/Civic-Engagement.

Bartik, T. J., Hershbein, B., Lendel, I., & Williams, S. An economic impact analysis of Rx Kids in Flint, Michigan. W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. October 30, 2025. https://research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1320&context=reports

Agarwal, S, Shaefer, HL, Zamani-Hank Y, Finegood E, LaChance J, Hanna M. Perinatal Cash Transfers and Birth Outcomes: A Population-Based, Quasi-Experimental Study of the Rx Kids Unconditional Cash Prescription During Pregnancy and Infancy. September 08, 2025. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5459276

Finegood E, Shaefer HL, Zamani-Hank Y, LaChance J, Wolock M, Cederna CL, Hanna M. Unconditional prenatal and infant cash transfers and parenting stress in the postpartum: Quasi-experimental impacts of the Rx Kids program in Flint, Michigan. July 16, 2025. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/86pgq_v1

Wolock M, Cederna CL, Ortega MG, et al. “I’m happy to be happy for my baby”: Perceptions of Rx Kids prenatal and infant cash prescriptions. Research Square. June 30, 2025. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6907691/v1

Hanna M, Shaefer HL, Fogle H, et al. Scaling up prenatal and infant cash prescriptions to eradicate deep infant poverty in the United States. Brookings Institute. December 20, 2024. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/prenatal-and-infant-cash-prescriptions-to-eradicate-deep-infant-poverty-united-states/

Hanna M, Shaefer HL. Results from Rx Kids participant survey & maternal wellbeing research study. Pediatric Public Health Initiative at Michigan State University and Poverty Solutions at University of Michigan; 2024. https://rxkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/RxKids_Research_Brief.pdf

Hanna M, Shaefer HL. Playbook for replicating Rx Kids: Utilizing TANF and protecting public benefits. Pediatric Public Health Initiative at Michigan State University and Poverty Solutions at University of Michigan; 2024:10. https://rxkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rx_Kids_TANF_Playbook.pdf