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SB 5182

Concerning programs and services for incarcerated parents at the department of corrections.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jess Bateman and 6 co-sponsors

The bill allows DOC to contract with nonprofits or volunteers to provide midwifery and doula services to incarcerated pregnant or postpartum individuals, alongside regular care.

Effective date 7/27/2025.
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Bill Summary · SB 5182

SB 5182 — Summary (Chapter 129, 2025 Laws)

Concerning programs and services for incarcerated parents at the Department of Corrections

Purpose

SB 5182 clarifies and expands how the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) may facilitate midwifery and doula services for incarcerated people who are pregnant or have given birth within the last six weeks. The law removes limiting statutory language and explicitly allows the DOC to use outside partners to deliver these services.

Key provisions and changes

  • Amends RCW 72.09.588 (2018 c 41 s 1).
  • Retains the requirement that the DOC must make reasonable accommodations for available midwifery or doula services for incarcerated individuals who are pregnant or within six weeks postpartum. Providers must be granted appropriate facility access, be allowed to attend and assist during labor/childbirth where feasible, and may access relevant health information if authorized.
  • Removes prior statutory language that stated nothing required the DOC to establish or fund midwifery/doula services. Instead it now states that nothing in the section prevents the DOC from:
    • Adopting policy guidelines for delivery of midwifery/doula services; and
    • Contracting with a nonprofit organization or partnering with volunteers to deliver these services.
  • Clarifies that services provided under this section may not supplant health care services routinely provided to the incarcerated individual.
  • Maintains and restates definitions for “doula services,” “midwifery services,” and “midwife” (including licensed midwives and ARNPs).
  • Replaces terminology: references to “inmates” become “incarcerated individuals” and earlier gendered references are made gender neutral in the enrolled version. (A later amendment proposing to revert to gender‑specific references to “women” was not adopted.)
  • No appropriation is attached; a fiscal note is available.

Who is affected

  • Primary: incarcerated individuals who are pregnant or within six weeks postpartum.
  • Secondary: nonprofit providers, volunteer doulas/midwives, DOC (policy, contracting and facility operations), and health-care staff who coordinate access and information disclosures.

Timing & procedural status

  • Passed Senate March 12, 2025 (42–6); passed House April 10, 2025 (92–3).
  • Delivered to Governor April 17, 2025; signed April 22, 2025.
  • Filed as Chapter 129, 2025 Laws. Effective date: July 27, 2025.

Potential impact

  • Enables DOC to formalize partnerships with nonprofits and volunteers to increase access to midwifery and doula supports in correctional settings.
  • Aims to increase emotional/psychological support and postpartum recovery and to improve maternal and infant health outcomes while ensuring such services do not replace routine medical care.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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