Sec. 803. Grant program to improve maternal health outcomes for individuals in State and local prisons and jails
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Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall award Justice for Incarcerated Moms grants to States to establish or expand programs in State and local prisons and jails for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals. The Attorney General shall award such grants in consultation with stakeholders such as— relevant community-based organizations, particularly organizations that represent incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and organizations that seek to improve maternal health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum individuals from demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse perinatal or childbirth outcomes; relevant organizations representing patients, with a particular focus on patients from demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse perinatal or childbirth outcomes; organizations representing maternity care providers and maternal health care education programs; perinatal health workers; and researchers and policy experts in fields related to maternal health care for incarcerated individuals.
Each applicant for a grant under this section shall submit to the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require. A State that is awarded a grant under this section shall use such grant to establish or expand programs for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals, and such programs may— provide access to perinatal health workers from pregnancy through the postpartum period; provide access to healthy foods and counseling on nutrition, recommended activity levels, and safety measures throughout pregnancy; train correctional officers to ensure that pregnant incarcerated individuals receive safe and respectful treatment; train medical personnel to ensure that pregnant incarcerated individuals receive trauma-informed, culturally and linguistically congruent care that promotes the health and safety of the pregnant individuals; provide counseling and treatment for individuals who have suffered from— diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions, including trauma and substance use disorders; trauma or violence, including domestic violence; human immunodeficiency virus; sexual abuse; pregnancy or infant loss; or chronic conditions; provide evidence-based pregnancy and childbirth education, parenting support, and other relevant forms of health literacy; provide clinical education opportunities to maternity care providers in training to expand pathways into maternal health care careers serving incarcerated individuals; offer opportunities for postpartum individuals to maintain contact with the individual’s newborn child to promote bonding, including enhanced visitation policies, access to prison nursery programs, or breastfeeding support; provide reentry assistance, particularly to— ensure access to health insurance coverage and transfer of health records to community providers if an incarcerated individual exits the criminal justice system during such individual’s pregnancy or in the postpartum period; and connect individuals exiting the criminal justice system during pregnancy or in the postpartum period to community-based resources, such as referrals to health care providers, substance use disorder treatments, and social services that address social determinants of maternal health; or establish partnerships with local public entities, private community entities, community-based organizations, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )), and Urban Indian organizations (as such term is defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1603 )) to establish or expand pretrial diversion programs as an alternative to incarceration for pregnant and postpartum individuals.
Such programs may include— evidence-based childbirth education or parenting classes; prenatal health coordination; family and individual counseling; evidence-based screenings, education, and, as needed, treatment for mental and behavioral health conditions, including drug and alcohol treatments; family case management services; domestic violence education and prevention; physical and sexual abuse counseling; and programs to address social determinants of health such as employment, housing, education, transportation, and nutrition.
In awarding grants under this section, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall give priority to applicants based on— the number of pregnant and postpartum individuals incarcerated in the State and, among such individuals, the number of pregnant and postpartum individuals from demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse perinatal or childbirth outcomes; and the extent to which the State has demonstrated a commitment to developing exemplary programs for pregnant and postpartum individuals incarcerated in the prisons and jails in the State.
A grant awarded under this section shall be for a 5-year period. A State that receives a grant under this section shall be responsible for— implementing the program funded by the grant; and not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, reporting results of such program to the Attorney General, including information describing— relevant quantitative indicators of the program’s success in improving the standard of care and health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals in the facility, including data stratified by race, ethnicity, sex, gender, primary language, age, geography, disability status, category of the criminal charge against such individual, incidence rates of pregnancy-related deaths, pregnancy-associated deaths, cases of infant mortality and morbidity, rates of preterm births and low-birthweight births, cases of severe maternal morbidity, cases of violence against pregnant or postpartum individuals, diagnoses of maternal mental or behavioral health conditions, and other such information as appropriate; relevant qualitative and quantitative evaluations from pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals who participated in such programs, including measures of patient-reported experience of care; and strategies to sustain such programs beyond the duration of the grant and expand such programs to other facilities.
Not later than 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a report describing the results of such grant programs. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall award a contract to an independent organization or independent organizations to conduct oversight of the programs described in subsection (c). There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
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Sec. 803
Grant program to improve maternal health outcomes for individuals in State and local prisons and jails
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