Direct cash transfers

Staff

Francisco Brady

Data and Policy Analyst

Francisco Brady is a data and policy analyst, working primarily on housing stability projects. Francisco has contributed to research on housing instability and homelessness in Chicago, several basic income pilots, and creating estimates of eligible p...

Staff

Leonymae Aumentado

Senior Project Manager

Leonymae Aumentado is a senior project manager at Poverty Solutions, where she supports various research and strategic projects, including the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor pilot program and the Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide and lead-safe ...

Faculty Directors

Natasha Pilkauskas

Associate Faculty Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Public Policy

[email protected]

Natasha Pilkauskas is associate faculty director at Poverty Solutions and a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Her research considers how demographic, social safety net, and economic shi...

Faculty Directors

Kristin Seefeldt

Faculty Director of Poverty Solutions; Associate Professor of Social Work; Associate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research

Kristin S. Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well-being. Her most recent book, "Abandoned Families: Social Isolation ...

Faculty Affiliates

Sumit Agarwal

Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health

[email protected]

Dr. Sumit Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. is a primary care physician, health economist, and assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health. Agarwal’s research examines the impact of social, economic, and in...

Faculty Affiliates

William Lopez

Clinical Associate Professor, U-M School of Public Health; Faculty Associate, U-M Department of Latino/a Studies

William D. Lopez is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and faculty associate in the Department of Latina/o Studies. His research and teaching center on racial health inequities, especially those exper...

Faculty Affiliates

Sarah Miller

Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy; Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy; Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research.

Sarah Miller is an associate professor of business economics and public policy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Miller's research interests are in health economics and, in particular, the short-term and long-te...

Faculty Affiliates

Rebeccah Sokol

Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Equity and Associate Professor of Social Work

[email protected]

Rebeccah Sokol is an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work and School of Public Health. Sokol’s program of research focuses on evaluating strategies to alleviate youth adversity and trauma, including preventing chi...

In the Media

‘State of the Mama’ highlights importance of Rx Kids and harms of ICE on maternal and child health

Jul 21, 2026 Michigan Advance

Rx Kids, a prenatal and infant direct cash support program that has been implemented in a number of municipalities throughout Michigan, was repeatedly mentioned by candidates and panelists as an example of the kind of policy that supports mothers.

Parents smiling with their baby at a birthday celebration.

In the Media

Opinion | New study finds Rx Kids can stabilize households, boost economy

Jul 21, 2026 Bridge Michigan

A new Upjohn Institute analysis of the Flint program, which began in 2024 and is jointly publicly and privately funded, found that it increased local per-capita income by $2.40 for every dollar spent. While it may seem obvious that sending people mon...

In the Media

Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives

Jul 21, 2026 The Atlantic

The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.

In the Media

U-M's GIG A2 pilot program uses art to flip narrative about recipients of public benefits

May 29, 2026 WEMU

People who receive traditional public benefits are often met with scrutiny, distrust, and suspicion. A new traveling art exhibit called "No Strings" is curated by University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions and is working to flip that narrative.

Poverty Solutions hosts a celebration for the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) and the opening of the No Strings art exhibit at YORK on April 29, 2026. (Michigan Photography)

News Release

New Study Finds Rx Kids Reduced Preterm Births and Low Birthweights, Prevented NICU Admissions

May 28, 2026

A new study published in The Lancet Public Health found that Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, was associated with significant improvements in birth outcomes for infants born in Flint, Michigan....

In the Media

In Flint, Cash for Pregnant Women Leads to Better Outcomes for Babies

May 27, 2026 New York Times

A program that gave women in Flint, Mich., money during pregnancy and after childbirth significantly improved their health and that of their newborns, according to a new study.

Rx Kids launch press conference. From left to right: Mama Sol, Ridgway White, Luke Shaefer, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Flint mom, Alana Turner, Mona Hanna-Attisha, Teresa Woodruff, Sheldon Neeley, a Flint mom, Day Austin, and Jim Ananich.

In the Media

How Rx Kids’ cash aid is helping Michigan moms afford diapers, food and rent

May 10, 2026 Detroit Free Press

By summer 2026, a cash aid program for moms and babies, designed with "no strings attached," will have gone from operating in one city to more than 60 communities across Michigan, reaching an estimated 23,000 infants a year.

News Release

New Study in JAMA Pediatrics Finds Rx Kids Associated with Significant Reductions in Infant Maltreatment Investigations

May 8, 2026 More about Rx Kids

A new peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Pediatrics provides rigorous, population-level evidence that the Rx Kids program is associated with substantial reductions in child maltreatment investigations among infants.

Figure 1. Line Graph of Investigated Allegations Within the First 6 Months of Life for Infants in Flint, Michigan, Control Cities, and the State of Michigan. While the State of Michigan's trend line remains fairly level around the 10% mark between 20...

Feature

U-M student artists reflect on creating art as social commentary on Ann Arbor’s guaranteed income pilot

May 6, 2026

Over two months this winter, six University of Michigan student artists created art pieces that illustrate quotes from GIG A2 participants about what the monthly payments meant to them.

Poverty Solutions Director Kristin Seefeldt speaks at a celebration for the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program and the opening of the No Strings art exhibit at YORK on April 29, 2026. (Michigan Photography)

In the Media

Ann Arbor guaranteed income program inspires ‘No Strings’ art exhibit

Apr 30, 2026 MLive / The Ann Arbor News

Artists, Ann Arbor leaders, University of Michigan researchers and participants and supporters of the GIG A2 Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor program were on hand for the unveiling of several colorful artwork prints.

An attendee speaks to a student artist standing near an art piece

News Release

No Strings art exhibit explores personal impact of guaranteed income

Apr 30, 2026

A new traveling art exhibit called No Strings, curated by University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, showcases art by six U-M students that illustrates quotes from participants in the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program.

The research team, Poverty Solutions staff, and No Strings artists gather at a celebration for the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program at YORK on April 29, 2026. (Michigan Photography)

In the Media

Hillary Clinton: How to Fix Affordability

Apr 9, 2026 New York Times

American families are raising children now, in an economy where both parents work to make ends meet and child care costs rival rent, in a country with no national paid leave and in a digital world they cannot control. Instead of lectures, families ne...

In the Media

Professors discuss efficacy of cash transfer policies

Mar 27, 2026 Michigan Daily

University of Michigan community members, students and faculty gathered in the Ford School of Public Policy Wednesday afternoon to attend “The debate about cash transfers,” a panel on the impacts of cash transfer programs — which provide direct payme...

U-M professors on the student moderator for The Debate on Cash Transfers panel held March 25, 2026, at the Ford School.

In the Media

Of $29 million given in Rx Kids funds, report shows most parents spend money on baby supplies, food

Mar 27, 2026 Michigan Advance

Since its launch at the start of 2024, Rx Kids, a prenatal and infant direct cash support program that started in Flint and has expanded to communities around Michigan, has prescribed over $29 million in funds to 8,348 families, according to a new pr...

In the Media

Ann Arbor guaranteed income program eased strain but didn’t shift food, housing insecurity

Feb 16, 2026 Michigan Advance

Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, which designed and implemented the program, has now released its report on the findings from the first year.

In the Media

Study finds mixed impact from Ann Arbor’s guaranteed basic income program

Feb 2, 2026 WDIV Local 4

A two-year guaranteed basic income pilot program in Ann Arbor that provided $528 monthly payments to entrepreneurs with low- to moderate-income has concluded with mixed results, according to researchers.

News Release

Ann Arbor residents spend guaranteed income on food, household supplies, housing

Jan 20, 2026

One year into Ann Arbor’s guaranteed income pilot program, the most common uses of the monthly payments were food, household supplies, and housing, according to a new report from the University of Michigan.

No Strings art exhibit reception

May 30, 2026, 1:00-3:00 pm EDT

Ann Arbor Artist Studio

No Strings is an art exhibit that illustrates quotes from guaranteed income recipients about what an extra $528 per month in no-strings-attached cash meant to them, as part of the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program. The art was created by U-M students under the guidance of artist Katie Hammond. The exhibit was curated by Poverty Solutions at U-M, which designed the pilot and is evaluating the impact of GIG A2. At the reception, you can view and respond to the art as well as hear more about how the project came together.

No Strings artists from left to right: Emma Ostermeyer, Victoria Sung, Lila Hudgins, Katie Hammond, Mia Echlin, Mrinaalika Sivakumar, and Lauren Parker. (Michigan Photography)

Healthier Babies, Stronger Communities: A Review of Rx Kids’ Research and Impact on Families and Communities

May 20, 2026, 12:00-1:30 pm EDT

Off Campus Location

Join us for a webinar that examines the evidence behind Rx Kids, offering insights into how community-wide, prenatal and infant cash prescriptions affect maternal and infant health, family stability, and community outcomes. Please register ahead of time for this event: https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Rz7BcAkwSaGGfR9q4cMWKg#/registration Explore Rx Kids research: https://rxkids.org/impact/

Policy Briefs

The COVID-19 Cash Transfer Studies

June 13, 2022

H. Luke Shaefer, Brian Jacob, Natasha Pilkauskas

Download PDF of full policy brief, "The COVID Cash Transfer Studies: Key Findings and Future Directions" By H. Luke Shaefer, Brian A. Jacob, Natasha V. Pilkauskas, Elizabeth Rhodes, and Katherine Richard Download PDF of working paper on Randomized...

Funded faculty research

Barrier Busting in the HOPE Village Neighborhood Network

January 2017 - December 2017

The study tracked outcomes for 11 nominees who received Barrier Buster awards ranging from $500 to $2,000 and a comparison group of four nominees who did not receive Barrier Buster awards.