Families

 Independent UK -  Voters are being asked to approve a program that would give $1,000 to new parents. The proposal, created by teachers in Baltimore, hopes to reduce childhood poverty starting from birth. An estimated 7,000 children are born in Baltimore each year, so the program would cost about $7 million annually, which is roughly 0.16% of the city’s annual operating budget, according to supporters. The “baby bonus” will appear on the ballot for city residents in November, after supporters secured the necessary 10,000 signatures to bring the question to voters. Their recent 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.