Arkansas routinely finishes near the bottom for indicators of maternal and infant health when compared to other states. Pete Gess, economic policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, says this phenomenon can largely be attributed to one thing.
“The big problem in Arkansas is we’re a poor state,” Gess told Little Rock Public Radio. “So there’s pretty tremendous childhood and family poverty.”
According to Gess, 21% of children under 5 years old – about 36,000 kids – live in poverty. Nearly 10% of children in Arkansas live in "extreme poverty.” This is defined as 50% of the federal poverty level. In Arkansas that’s under $11,000 for a family of two, and under $16,500 for a family of four.
According to Gess, there’s a potential solution: programs that give direct financial help to pregnant mothers. This is what the Bridge Project, a nonprofit organization aims to do in Arkansas.
“Poverty is highly correlated with maternal and infant […] health issues,” Gess said. “If a household’s living in poverty it has a lot of trouble meeting those needs that help a child develop.”
The Bridge Project is working to help expecting Arkansans by giving them direct cash payments. There are 300 spots available with $6 million committed to the program in Arkansas.
“Each enrolled mom will receive a total of $20,250 over the course of three years. (Specifically, that’s a $1,125 one-time, upfront prenatal stipend; $750 per month for the first 15 months of the program; $375 per month for the remaining 21 months in the program.)” said Varsha Vijayakumar, a spokesperson for the Bridge Project.
Suzanna Fritzberg, the program’s executive director, said providing concrete support like this is “actually a really old idea.”
“Folks like Thomas Paine, MLK, even Richard Nixon had a proposal [for] something like this interestingly enough,” she said. “And I think where it comes from is recognizing that, especially for some of our most vulnerable communities, health and financial stability are really intertwined.”
According to the Bridge Project website, about 1 in 6 children – around 575,000 – in the U.S. live in poverty.
“These children face structural disadvantages, including limited access to quality healthcare, nutrition, and educational resources, all of which dramatically limit their opportunities for economic mobility and future prosperity,” reads the nonprofit’s website.
Depending on the state, the Bridge Project is funded through a mix of philanthropy and public dollars. In Arkansas, the program is funded through philanthropy. The project receives money from the Monarch Foundation and other state and national charities. More information about the Bridge Project can be found on the Internal Revenue Service’s website.
Fritzberg says she has heard of people on the Bridge Project using the money to cover costs for specialty baby formula, make ends meet during a slow period of work and save up for education. While the ways that expecting mothers use the money may differ, she said the impact across communities is consistent.
Fritzberg said the data shows birth outcomes, access to medical care, housing stability and food security are all positively impacted by the Bridge Project.
“And overall, we see healthier, more stable families across all of the programs we serve.”
Applications for the program in Arkansas are now open and will be accepted on a rolling basis. To be eligible you must make under $44,000, live in Arkansas and be 27 weeks pregnant or less. You must also either be 18 to 22 years old or a member or veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. Prospective applicants can apply at www.bridgeproject.org/apply.
Correction: this story was updated to clarify a statement from Suzanna Fritzberg.
