CNA Newsroom, Jul 3, 2024 / 16:27 pm
Voters in Baltimore will decide this fall whether to approve a $1,000 bonus that parents would receive upon the birth or adoption of a child.
Led by the Maryland Child Alliance (MCA), a volunteer organization mainly composed of teachers, the measure garnered roughly 13,000 signatures and received approval Monday from the Baltimore City Board of Elections to appear on the November ballot.
If approved, the measure would create a fund that would issue one-time $1,000 payments to parents regardless of their income level, costing the city at least $7 million annually. The Maryland Child Alliance says on its website that “the funding for the Baltimore Baby Bonus will come from the city’s general budget, which is $4.3 billion for 2024.”
The group says its push for the bonus program is driven by evidence that mitigating the significant financial costs of bringing home and caring for a newborn can lead to greater success for children and adults in the long run.