Voters in Baltimore City will likely get to decide in November whether the Baltimore Baby Fund will become permanent in the city’s budget.
Earlier this week the Baltimore City Board of Elections notified the Baltimore Baby Fund’s campaign that it had the minimum 10,000 valid signatures from city voters to be placed on the ballot. The fund’s campaign submitted 13,890 individual signatures it collected between 2025 and 2026. At least 10,000 needed to be validated to meet the quota required for certification.
Maryland Child Alliance launched an initiative in 2024 for the “Baltimore Baby Bonus Fund,” a proposal to give a one-time $1,000 payment to Baltimore City parents of new children. The Maryland Supreme Court ruled the proposal unconstitutional because it bypasses state and local laws by going around legislators. The city also opposed the payments because it did not have the funds to sustain the payments. The proposal did not appear on the November 2024 ballot.
The revised Baltimore Baby Fund charter amendment would establish a permanent fund in the city budget that was dedicated to the economic well-being of families with newborn children. The specific use of the fund would be left to the mayor and city council’s discretion. The Maryland Child Alliance anticipates the Board of Elections will officially certify the Baltimore Baby Fund to appear on the ballot for city-wide elections in November.
The Maryland Child Alliance is an advocacy organization whose mission is to reduce and eventually eliminate child poverty in the state of Maryland. It focuses on cash transfers to families, on the premise that they are the most efficient way to help families in poverty get what they need.
