For 15 months, teachers with the Maryland Child Alliance spoke with Baltimore residents about the importance of a $1,000 payment to parents after the birth or adoption of a child — money that could be used to pay rent, buy diapers or baby food, and provide parents with a small financial cushion during a stressful time.
They were able to convince nearly 14,000 city residents to sign their petition to put the creation of the Baby Bonus Fund on the ballot this fall.
On July 1, the Maryland Child Alliance received word from the Baltimore City Board of Elections that 10,000 of the signatures they submitted had been certified by the agency and the amendment to the city charter would be voted on by residents in November.
But, less than two weeks later, organizers behind the Baby Bonus Fund were informed that Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and the City Council had filed a lawsuit to remove the question from the ballot, arguing that the amendment is unconstitutional and that “citizens cannot legislate by charter amendment.”
“This attempt to remove us from the ballot is a grave disservice to Baltimore’s families and children,” organizers wrote in a social media statement on July 12.
They noted that the language for the Baby Bonus Fund mirrored the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, a charter amendment that Scott sponsored as a city councilman in 2016.
“In reality, this is about power and taking away city voters’ opportunity to enact the Baby Bonus Fund,” the statement continued. The alliance said they plan to fight the lawsuit in court.
Nate Golden, president of the Maryland Child Alliance, said at a press conference on July 12 that the alliance had been trying to meet with the mayor for more than a year, and that they had reached out to city council members and other lawmakers about their mission without much luck.
“While Mayor Scott is supportive of the proposed amendment’s objectives, charter amendments that effectively commandeer the role of the legislature go against Maryland law and the City’s charter,” Bryan Doherty, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in an email.
Scott’s office also said that the city did not have the resources for a permanent guaranteed income program like the Baby Bonus Fund, which is estimated to cost the city $7 million a year, despite their “sympathies toward the underlying policy.”
One of the five pillars of Scott’s $4.1 billion fiscal year 2025 budget is “prioritizing our youth.”
Scott spoke last week at Netroots Nation, a progressive conference held in Baltimore this year, to laud the guaranteed income movement and express the difference it makes in the lives of residents.
Scott spoke last week at Netroots Nation, a progressive conference held in Baltimore this year, to laud the guaranteed income movement and express the difference it makes in the lives of residents.
“Again, the numbers support it. Not just in Baltimore’s GI program, but in the ones all around the country, supports this being something that one, is impactful, obviously, that the data is there. Two, it’s very fiscally responsible, right. And three, changes lives and communities which is what we’re supposed to do in these jobs in the first place,” Scott said at the conference.
“The data doesn’t lie, guaranteed income works and should be a part of the solution to end poverty for good in the country. But we need to do it the right way,” Scott added on social media.
Scott piloted a two-year guaranteed income program for young parents in 2022 using $4.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding. A June 2024 report just before the last monthly payments were sent out in July found that participants in the program were able to increase their household income, move into more independent living situations, pursue further education, and increase their employment.
“The initial findings suggest that [Baltimore Young Families Success Fund] families are doing better than control group families one year into the pilot in three key areas: income, housing, and mental health. These results suggest progress towards the program’s goal to help stabilize young parents facing economic challenges and improve their overall household well-being,” the report reads.
At the press conference, Golden argued that if Scott and other city officials really did support the Baby Bonus Fund but found the proposed charter amendment unconstitutional, that they could still put the fund in the city’s budget themselves.
“We have a strong mayor system here in Baltimore. Brandon Scott already has outsized power on shaping the budget, and now he’s attempting an undemocratic power move to take more power and strip the power of people to shape how the city spends its money,” Golden said.
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