On March 27, the city of Philadelphia announced plans to launch a new program that will give $1,000 each month to pregnant women. The city is hoping to launch the program in 2024, to address racial disparities in infant mortality and will be available to women in specific communities, reported the New York Post. The city has one of the nation's highest infant mortality rates for children in their first year of life.
The city has already secured about half the amount needed to fund the project. There will reportedly be no stipulations on how the expectant mothers use the money.
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The program aims to address the infant mortality crisis, according to the Philadelphia health commissioner.
“We know that being able to better support pregnant people and new parents helps keep babies alive,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. A report from the city in 2021 showed that non-Hispanic Black women were responsible for 43% of births between 2013 and 2018, but accounted for 58% of pregnancy-related deaths, per the Maternal Mortality Report.
With the aim to address racial disparities in infant mortality rates, the program will be available to expectant mothers in neighborhoods that have reported the highest rates of low birth weight. Those neighborhoods include Cobbs Creek, Strawberry Mansion, and Nicetown-Tioga, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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The program is the result of a partnership between the health department and a community-based network.
The Department of Public Health in Philadelphia hopes to start the program in 2024. It will be called Philly Joy Bank. The program is a joint effort and collaboration between the Philadelphia Community Action Network and the health department. CAN is made up of parents, doctors, and researchers who are trying to reduce the racial disparities in infant mortality.
The William Penn Foundation and Sprint Point Partners contributed $3 million out of the $6 million the city hopes to raise for the new program. The total amount of funding would support 250 mothers, according to the New York Post.
Officials have shared some details about the program.
Monthly cash payments of $1,000 will be provided for 18 months, so mothers will be supported for up to a year postpartum, with no stipulations on how to spend the money, reported the New York Post.
Additional support, such as doulas, home visits, lactation support, and counseling support for finances will be offered. Expectant mothers have to have an annual income of less than $100,000 to qualify.
Other programs have been created to address this issue.
The health commissioner said the program “draws on the successes of other no-strings-attached guaranteed income projects,” reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. California created a program that offered cash payments to expectant Black women in four counties, reported KQED.
New York City launched a similar project, called the Bridge Project, in 2021. The Bridge Project gave $1,000 monthly payments for three years to mothers living in Central Harlem, Inwood, and Washington Heights, reported CNBC.
