Politics
Baltimore Baby Fund would offer newborn payments if voters approve Question I
Mayor Brandon Scott has signed an order describing a proposed city fund that could provide cash and other support to families with newborns. The measure goes before Baltimore voters Nov. 3, but payment amounts and some eligibility rules have not been set.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott signed an executive order Oct. 24 outlining how a proposed Baltimore Baby Fund could assist families with newborns if city voters approve it this fall.
The measure, listed as Question I on the Nov. 3 ballot, would make every Baltimore City newborn enrolled in the program eligible for a one-time cash payment. The amount has not been determined.
Some expectant and new parents could receive additional help, potentially including a payment during pregnancy, monthly cash assistance after birth and a contribution to a Maryland 529 college savings account. Families could also be connected with B’More for Healthy Babies for care coordination and health services. Eligibility details for the additional benefits have not been finalized.
The city describes the fund as a permanent program intended to help families meet costs such as food, transportation and child care. Any money left over at the end of a year would stay in the fund.
Voter approval is still required. The proposal follows the city’s Baltimore Young Families Success Fund, a guaranteed-income pilot that used $4.8 million in federal COVID-related funding to give 200 young parents $1,000 a month for two years. A 2024 report on the pilot found participating families increased their income and reported improvements in independent living and mental and emotional health compared with a control group, according to Mayors & Counties for a Guaranteed Income.
The current proposal was redesigned after an earlier effort, the Baltimore Baby Bonus, sought a $1,000 payment for new parents. Scott and the city challenged that proposal in court in 2024, arguing it was not suitable for a charter amendment; the Maryland Supreme Court blocked it from that year’s ballot.
Advocates brought forward the Baltimore Baby Fund proposal in 2025. Compared with the Baby Bonus, it sets fewer specific terms and gives city leaders more discretion over how assistance would be delivered. Scott backed the revised proposal by August.