organization that provides child care services and 
can carry out programs providing pregnant and 
postpartum individuals with free and accessible 
drop-in child care services during prenatal and 
postpartum appointments. 
(2) PRIORITIZATION.—In selecting grant recipi-
ents under this section, the Secretary shall give pri-
ority to eligible organizations that operate in an area 
with high rates of adverse maternal health outcomes 
or significant racial or ethnic disparities in maternal 
health outcomes, to the extent such data are avail-
able. 
(d) TIMING.—The Secretary shall commence the 
grant program under subsection (a) not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(e) REPORTING.— 
(1) GRANTEES.—Each recipient of a grant 
under this section shall annually submit to the Sec-
retary and make publicly available a report on the 
status of activities conducted using the grant. Each 
such report shall include— 
(A) an analysis of the effect of the funded 
program on prenatal and postpartum appoint-
ment attendance rates; 
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(B) summaries of qualitative assessments 
of the funded program from— 
(i) pregnant and postpartum individ-
uals participating in the program; and 
(ii) the families of such individuals; 
and 
(C) such additional information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
(2) SECRETARY.—Not later than the end of fis-
cal year 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress and make publicly available a report con-
taining the following: 
(A) A summary of the reports under para-
graph (1). 
(B) An assessment of the effects, if any, of 
the funded programs on maternal health out-
comes, with a specific focus on racial and ethnic 
disparities in such outcomes. 
(C) A description of actions the Secretary 
can 
take 
to 
ensure 
that 
pregnant 
and 
postpartum individuals eligible for medical as-
sistance under a State plan under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1936 et 
seq.) have access to free and accessible drop-in 
child 
care 
services 
during 
prenatal 
and 
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postpartum appointments, including identifica-
tion of the funding necessary to carry out such 
actions. 
(f) DROP-IN CHILD CARE SERVICES DEFINED.—In 
this section, the term ‘‘drop-in child care services’’ means 
child care and early childhood education services that 
are— 
(1) delivered at a facility that meets the re-
quirements of all applicable laws and regulations of 
the State or local government in which it is located, 
including the licensing of the facility as a child care 
facility; and 
(2) provided in single encounters without re-
quiring full-time enrollment of a person in a child 
care program. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 
2024. 
SEC. 8. GRANTS TO LOCAL ENTITIES ADDRESSING SOCIAL 
DETERMINANTS OF MATERNAL HEALTH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall award grants to eligible entities to— 
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(1) address social determinants of maternal 
health for pregnant and postpartum individuals; and 
(2) eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in 
maternal health outcomes. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this subsection an eligible entity shall submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may 
provide. 
(c) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible 
entity that— 
(1) is, or will partner with, a community-based 
organization to carrying out the activities under sub-
section (d); 
(2) is operating in an area with high rates of 
adverse maternal health outcomes or significant ra-
cial or ethnic disparities in maternal health out-
comes; and 
(3) is operating in an area with a high poverty 
rate. 
(d) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity that receives a 
grant under this section may— 
(1) hire and retain staff; 
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(2) develop and distribute a list of available re-
sources with respect to social service programs in a 
community; 
(3) establish a resource center that provides 
multiple social service programs in a single location; 
and 
(4) offer programs and resources in the commu-
nities in which the respective eligible entities are lo-
cated to address social determinants of health for 
pregnant and postpartum individuals; and 
(5) consult with such pregnant and postpartum 
individuals to conduct an assessment of the activities 
under this subsection. 
(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 
provide to grant recipients under this section technical as-
sistance to plan for sustaining programs to address social 
determinants of maternal health among pregnant and 
postpartum individuals after the period of the grant. 
(f) REPORTING.— 
(1) GRANTEES.—Not later than 1 year after an 
eligible entity first receives a grant under this sec-
tion, and annually thereafter, an eligible entity shall 
submit to the Secretary, and make publicly available, 
a report on the status of activities conducted using 
the grant. Each such report shall include data on 
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the effects of such activities, disaggregated by race, 
ethnicity, gender, and other relevant factors. 
(2) SECRETARY.—Not later than the end of fis-
cal year 2026, the Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress a report that includes— 
(A) a summary of the reports under para-
graph (1); and 
(B) recommendations for— 
(i) improving maternal health out-
comes; and 
(ii) reducing or eliminating racial and 
ethnic disparities in maternal health out-
comes. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CULTURALLY CONGRUENT.—The term ‘‘cul-
turally congruent’’, with respect to care or maternity 
care, means care that is in agreement with the pre-
ferred cultural values, beliefs, worldview, language, 
and practices of the health care consumer and other 
stakeholders. 
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(2) MATERNITY
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘maternity care provider’’ means a health care pro-
vider who— 
(A) is a physician, physician assistant, 
midwife who meets at a minimum the inter-
national definition of the midwife and global 
standards for midwifery education as estab-
lished by the International Confederation of 
Midwives, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse 
specialist; and 
(B) has a focus on maternal or perinatal 
health. 
(3) MATERNAL MORTALITY.—The term ‘‘mater-
nal mortality’’ means a death occurring during or 
within a one-year period after pregnancy, caused by 
pregnancy-related or childbirth complications, in-
cluding a suicide, overdose, or other death resulting 
from a mental health or substance use disorder at-
tributed to or aggravated by pregnancy-related or 
childbirth complications. 
(4) PERINATAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term 
‘‘perinatal health worker’’ means a doula, commu-
nity health worker, peer supporter, breastfeeding 
and lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist or 
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dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home 
visitor, language interpreter, or navigator. 
(5) POSTPARTUM AND POSTPARTUM PERIOD.— 
The terms ‘‘postpartum’’ and ‘‘postpartum period’’ 
refer to the 1-year period beginning on the last day 
of the pregnancy of an individual. 
(6) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 
The term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority group’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 1707(g)(1) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 
6(g)(1)). 
(7) SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY.—The term 
‘‘severe maternal morbidity’’ means a health condi-
tion, including mental health conditions and sub-
stance use disorders, attributed to or aggravated by 
pregnancy or childbirth that results in significant 
short-term or long-term consequences to the health 
of the individual who was pregnant. 
(8) SOCIAL
DETERMINANTS
OF
MATERNAL 
HEALTH DEFINED.—The term ‘‘social determinants 
of maternal health’’ means non-clinical factors that 
impact maternal health outcomes, including— 
(A) economic factors, which may include 
poverty, employment, food security, support for 
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and access to lactation and other infant feeding 
options, housing stability, and related factors; 
(B) neighborhood factors, which may in-
clude quality of housing, access to transpor-
tation, access to child care, availability of 
healthy foods and nutrition counseling, avail-
ability of clean water, air and water quality, 
ambient temperatures, neighborhood crime and 
violence, access to broadband, and related fac-
tors; 
(C) social and community factors, which 
may include systemic racism, gender discrimi-
nation or discrimination based on other pro-
tected classes, workplace conditions, incarcer-
ation, and related factors; 
(D) household factors, which may include 
ability to conduct lead testing and abatement, 
car seat installation, indoor air temperatures, 
and related factors; 
(E) education access and quality factors, 
which may include educational attainment, lan-
guage and literacy, and related factors; and 
(F) health care access factors, including 
health insurance coverage, access to culturally 
congruent health care services, providers, and 
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non-clinical support, access to home visiting 
services, access to wellness and stress manage-
ment programs, health literacy, access to tele-
health and items required to receive telehealth 
services, and related factors. 
Æ 
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