II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 48 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to establish a grant program 

for community-based maternal mentoring programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 

Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to establish 

a grant program for community-based maternal mentoring programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Mentors 

5 for Moms Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED MATERNAL MEN7 TORING PROGRAMS. 

8 Title V of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701 

9 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 514. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED MATERNAL 

2 MENTORING PROGRAMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other pay4 ments made under this title to a State, the Secretary shall 

5 make grants to eligible entities to conduct demonstration 

6 projects for, and enable such entities to deliver services 

7 under, community-based mentoring programs that satisfy 

8 the requirements of subsection (c) to eligible mothers in 

9 order to promote improvements in maternal and child well10 being, financial stewardship, child development, parenting, 

11 and access to social services and other community re12 sources. 

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—The Secretary may not award 

14 funds made available under this subsection on a non15 competitive basis, and may not provide any such funds to 

16 an entity for the purpose of carrying out a community17 based mentoring program unless the entity has submitted 

18 an application to the Secretary that includes— 

19 ‘‘(1) a description of how the programs or ac20 tivities proposed in the application will improve ma21 ternal mental and physical health outcomes in a 

22 service area identified by the entity, substantially in23 crease the number of eligible mothers in a service 

24 area with access to a community-based mentoring 

25 relationship, utilize community volunteer mentors, 

26 and supplement, including by avoiding duplication 


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1 with, existing social services and community re2 sources; 

3 ‘‘(2) a description of how the program will part4 ner with other community institutions, including pri5 vate institutions, in identifying eligible mothers in 

6 need of a mentor and, as applicable, creating sup7 port communities among eligible mothers; 

8 ‘‘(3) a description of the populations to be 

9 served by the entity, including specific information 

10 on how the entity will serve eligible mothers who be11 long to high-risk populations as identified in sub12 section (d); 

13 ‘‘(4) a description of the maternal and child 

14 health indicators, financial well-being, and other 

15 needs of populations to be served by the entity as 

16 described in paragraph (3), including, to the extent 

17 practicable, the prevalence of mentoring opportuni18 ties for such populations; 

19 ‘‘(5) the quantifiable benchmarks that will be 

20 used to measure program success; 

21 ‘‘(6) a commitment by the entity to consult 

22 with experts with a demonstrated history of men23 toring and case management success in achieving 

24 the outcomes described in subsection (c)(2)(A) in de25 veloping the programs and activities; 


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1 ‘‘(7) a commitment by the entity to ensure 

2 mentors to not refer or counsel in favor of abortions; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(8) such other application information as the 

5 Secretary may deem necessary, with the goal of 

6 minimizing the application burden on small non7 governmental organizations that would otherwise 

8 qualify for the grant. 

9 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CORE COMPONENTS.—A community ma11 ternal mentoring program conducted with a grant 

12 made under this section shall include the following 

13 core components: 

14 ‘‘(A) Provision of community-based men15 toring relationships for eligible mothers, which 

16 may include dedicated individual mentors and 

17 networks of peer and community support 

18 groups. 

19 ‘‘(B) An individualized needs assessment 

20 for each eligible mother participating in the 

21 program, to be administered at the outset of 

22 the program. 

23 ‘‘(C) Recruitment and utilization of com24 munity-based, volunteer mentors. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Provision of training to participating 

2 mentors to equip them with mentoring best 

3 practices and knowledge of public and private 

4 resources available to eligible mothers (includ5 ing public social services). 

6 ‘‘(2) MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN BENCH7 MARK AREAS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The eligible entity 

9 shall establish, subject to the approval of the 

10 Secretary, quantifiable, measurable 3- and 5- 

11 year benchmarks demonstrating the program 

12 results in improvements for eligible mothers 

13 participating in the program in the following 

14 areas: 

15 ‘‘(i) The number of eligible mothers in 

16 the eligible entity’s service area with access 

17 to a community-based mentoring relation18 ship. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Improved maternal and child 

20 health, including mental and behavioral 

21 health. 

22 ‘‘(iii) Improved financial literacy. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Improved family economic self24 sufficiency. 


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1 ‘‘(v) Improved coordination and refer2 rals for other community resources and 

3 supports, including public and private re4 sources. 

5 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF IMPROVE6 MENT.— 

7 ‘‘(i) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.— 

8 Not later than 30 days after the end of the 

9 third year in which the eligible entity con10 ducts the program, the entity shall submit 

11 to the Secretary a report describing the 

12 program’s results in the areas specified in 

13 subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(ii) IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—If the re15 port submitted to the Secretary fails to 

16 demonstrate improvements in at least 3 of 

17 the areas outlined in subparagraph (A), 

18 the eligible entity shall develop and imple19 ment a plan to improve outcomes in each 

20 of the areas specified in subparagraph (A), 

21 subject to approval by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(iii) NO IMPROVEMENT OR FAILURE

23 TO SUBMIT REPORT.—If, 1 year after an 

24 eligible entity submits an improvement 

25 plan under clause (ii), the Secretary deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:24 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S48.IS S48

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1 mines that the entity has failed to dem2 onstrate any improvement in the areas 

3 specified in subparagraph (A), or if the 

4 Secretary determines that an eligible entity 

5 has failed to submit the report required 

6 under clause (i), and has not agreed to a 

7 reasonable timeline to submit such report 

8 under such conditions as may be deter9 mined by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

10 terminate the entity’s grant and may re11 allocate any unpaid grant funds toward fu12 ture grants provided under this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) IMPROVEMENTS IN PARTICIPANT OUT14 COMES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The program is de16 signed, with respect to an eligible mother par17 ticipating in the program, to result in the par18 ticipant outcomes described in subparagraph 

19 (B) that are relevant to the mother (as deter20 mined pursuant to an individualized needs as21 sessment administered to the mother). 

22 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES.—The par23 ticipant outcomes described in this subpara24 graph are the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Improvements in prenatal and 

2 maternal health, including mental and be3 havioral health and improved pregnancy 

4 outcomes. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Improvements in child health 

6 and development, including the prevention 

7 of child injuries and maltreatment. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Higher levels of engagement be9 tween mothers, children, and their health 

10 providers. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Reductions in mothers’ stress 

12 and anxiety. 

13 ‘‘(v) Improvements in parenting skills. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Improvement in financial literacy 

15 skills. 

16 ‘‘(vii) Improvements in child’s school 

17 readiness and academic achievement. 

18 ‘‘(viii) Improvements in family eco19 nomic self-sufficiency. 

20 ‘‘(ix) Improvements in the coordina21 tion of referrals for, and the provision of, 

22 other community resources, including pri23 vate and public resources, and supports for 

24 eligible families. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIZATION.—An eligible entity receiving a 

2 grant under this section shall identify and prioritize high3 risk populations in provision of services, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) low-income eligible mothers; 

5 ‘‘(2) eligible mothers who are pregnant women 

6 who have not attained the age of 21; 

7 ‘‘(3) eligible mothers from populations with a 

8 high risk of maternal morbidity; 

9 ‘‘(4) eligible mothers with a history of sub10 stance abuse or victims of domestic abuse; 

11 ‘‘(5) eligible mothers with children with develop12 mental disabilities; and 

13 ‘‘(6) eligible mothers residing in a qualified op14 portunity zone, as designated under section 1400Z– 

15 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

16 ‘‘(e) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Funds provided to 

17 an eligible entity under a grant awarded under subsection 

18 (a) shall supplement, and not supplant, funds from other 

19 sources for maternal mentorship or case management 

20 services. 

21 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ONGOING RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 

23 The Secretary shall engage in ongoing research and 

24 evaluation activities in order to increase knowledge 

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1 munity maternal mentoring programs. The Sec2 retary may carry out such activities directly, or 

3 through grants, cooperative agreements, or con4 tracts, and shall submit a report to Congress not 

5 less than annually on the research and evaluation 

6 steps being taken to measure the impact and effec7 tiveness of programs funded under this section, as 

8 well as any interim outcomes that may be available. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 3 

10 years after the date of enactment of this section, the 

11 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the 

12 effectiveness of programs funded with grants under 

13 subsection (a) in producing the outcomes described 

14 in subsection (c)(3)(B), and shall include in such re15 port recommendations for improving program design 

16 and implementation. 

17 ‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

18 provide an eligible entity required to develop and imple19 ment an improvement plan under subsection (c)(2)(B) 

20 with technical assistance to develop and implement the 

21 plan. The Secretary may provide the technical assistance 

22 directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agree23 ments. 

24 ‘‘(h) NO FUNDS TO PROHIBITED ENTITIES.—No 

25 prohibited entity shall be eligible to receive a grant under 


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1 subsection (a), or any other funds made available by this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(i) PROTECTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING RELIGIOUS

4 ORGANIZATIONS.—A religious organization shall be eligi5 ble to apply for and receive funding for a program under 

6 this section on the same basis as a non-religious organiza7 tion, and a religious organization’s exemptions, in title VII 

8 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (including exemption from 

9 prohibitions in employment discrimination in section 

10 702(a) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1(a))), title VIII of 

11 the Civil Rights Act of 1968, title IX of the Educational 

12 Amendments of 1987, the Americans with Disabilities Act, 

13 the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Religious 

14 Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or any other 

15 provision in law providing an exemption for a religious or16 ganization, shall not be waived by its participation in, or 

17 receipt of funds from, a grant provided by this section. 

18 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying 

20 out this section, there are authorized to be appro21 priated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

22 through 2026. 

23 ‘‘(2) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amounts appro24 priated under this subsection for a fiscal year, the 


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1 Secretary shall reserve 3 percent for purposes of car2 rying out subsections (f) and (g). 

3 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Funds made available to 

4 an eligible entity under this section shall remain 

5 available for expenditure by the eligible entity 

6 through the end of the third fiscal year following the 

7 fiscal year in which the funds are awarded to the en8 tity. 

9 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY-BASED MENTORING RELA11 TIONSHIP.—The term ‘community-based mentoring 

12 relationship’ means a relationship with a dedicated 

13 mentor and, as applicable, group of mentors or peer 

14 support group, who meet regularly with an eligible 

15 mother and help that mother address barriers to 

16 care, mental, behavioral, and physical well-being, 

17 and economic mobility by providing support services 

18 and linkages to community resources. A community19 based mentoring relationship should, to the extent 

20 practicable, have an understanding of the barriers 

21 and lived experience of that community, which may 

22 include shared lived experience. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en24 tity’ means a local government, Indian Tribe (or a 

25 consortium of Indian Tribes), Tribal Organization, 


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1 Urban Indian Organization, or nonprofit organiza2 tion, including religious organizations, with a dem3 onstrated history of serving eligible mothers. 

4 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE MOTHER.—The term ‘eligible 

5 mother’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) a woman who is pregnant; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a woman who has primary caregiving 

8 responsibilities for a child under the age of 6. 

9 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITED ENTITY.—The term ‘prohib10 ited entity’ means an entity, including its affiliates, 

11 subsidiaries, successors, and clinics that, as of the 

12 date of enactment of this section, performs, induces, 

13 refers for, or counsels in favor of abortions, or pro14 vides financial support to any other organization 

15 that conducts such activities.’’. 

Æ 


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