Bill
HB 725
The bill creates a Maternal Care Access Grant Program to fund community-based, Black-led efforts improving maternal health outcomes and reducing disparities.
Status and sponsor
- Bill title: MOMnibus 3.0. (House Bill 725, 2025 Session)
- Primary sponsor(s): Rep. Julie von Haefen (with Rep. Hawkins, Alston, Johnson‑Hostler listed as primary sponsors in the introduced version).
- Filed: April 2, 2025 (Session 2025). Referred to committees; outreach/application activities in the bill begin July 1, 2025.
Purpose and intent
- Reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, with a focus on preventing adverse outcomes among Black birthing people.
- Address racial disparities in maternal health by investing in community‑based programs, improving culturally congruent supports, and encouraging collection and evaluation of data and evidence‑based interventions. The preamble highlights concerns about implicit bias and inequitable treatment in the health care system.
Key provisions (Part I — Maternal Care Access Grant Program)
- Establishes a Maternal Care Access Grant Program administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Grants are competitive and aimed at community‑based organizations that provide programs/resources aligned with evidence‑based practices to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women.
- Eligibility/prioritization: DHHS must set eligibility standards; special consideration is required for applicants that:
- Serve communities with high rates of adverse maternal outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities;
- Are led by Black women;
- Offer programs aligned with evidence‑based practices for Black maternal health.
- Grant size and distribution:
- Grants may not be less than $10,000 or more than $50,000 per recipient.
- DHHS should, to the extent possible, award grants reflecting geographic diversity across the State.
- Types of activities eligible for support include (non‑exhaustive):
- Maternal mental health and substance‑use disorder treatment aligned with evidence‑based practices;
- Addressing social determinants of health (housing, transportation, nutrition, lactation support, child care, baby supplies, lead abatement, employment barriers, etc.);
- Health literacy, pregnancy/parenting education, group and peer support;
- Individually tailored doula and perinatal health worker support from pregnancy through postpartum;
- Culturally respectful training for perinatal workers (doulas, community health workers, lactation consultants, social workers, home visitors, navigators);
- Community‑specific program development and research on Black maternal health.
- Technical assistance: DHHS must provide grantees with capacity building, best practices in data collection/evaluation/reporting, and planning for sustainability after grant funds expire.
- Reporting: DHHS must submit reports on the grant program to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division. The bill directs an initial report by October 1, 2026 (details truncated in the available text).
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: Black birthing people and communities disproportionately experiencing poor maternal outcomes.
- Implementers/recipients: Community‑based organizations (especially those led by Black women or serving high‑need areas), doulas and perinatal workforce, DHHS (administration and oversight).
- Fiscal actors: State budget (DHHS) — the bill requires funding but the available text does not specify an appropriation or total program budget.
Potential impact and uncertainties
- Intended to expand grassroots capacity for culturally congruent maternal supports, address social determinants contributing to poor outcomes, and improve data/evaluation on effective interventions for Black maternal health.
- Fiscal impact is not specified in the provided excerpt; program scale depends on future appropriations.
- The bill text provided focuses on Part I (grant program); MOMnibus 3.0 may contain additional parts not included in the excerpt.
Effective/timing notes
- Outreach and application assistance by DHHS are specified to begin July 1, 2025.
- Initial program reporting to the legislature is required by October 1, 2026.
For readers seeking more
- The summary reflects Part I of the North Carolina House Bill 725 (MOMnibus 3.0) as provided. The bill contains additional sections and reporting details that may not be included in the excerpt; consult the full bill text or legislative staff for the complete enacted language and appropriation status.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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