BALTIMORE (AP) — New parents in Baltimore could receive a $1,000 “baby bonus” if voters approve a proposal that aims to help reduce childhood poverty from birth with a one-time cash payment. A group of Baltimore teachers is behind the effort. Organizers recently secured the necessary 10,000 signatures to bring the question to voters as a ballot initiative in November.
Their campaign relied on extensive canvassing efforts and a cute logo: a flying cartoon stork with a bag of money in its beak. The proposal is loosely modeled on a program implemented this year in Flint, Michigan, where women receive $1,500 during mid-pregnancy and $500 per month for the first year after giving birth. Officials said the Flint program was the first of its kind in the U.
S. Countries in Europe and Asia have experimented with larger cash payments, but those programs are meant to encourage more people to have more kids, not address child poverty. Italy , which has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, provides baby bonus checks and other benefits aimed at increasing the population.
Organizers behind the Baltimore campaign say more systemic change is needed on a national level to help lift families out of poverty, but giving new parents a modest financial boost could prove an important first step. “If we’re going to spend a limited amount of money, where do you get the most bang for your buck? Research says at birth,” said Nate Golden, a high school math teacher who helped found the Mar.