Adelita Grijalva

Perinatal Workforce Act

This bill establishes programs and requires research to diversify the perinatal workforce and advance respectful maternal care delivery models.

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants to education and training programs to grow and diversify the professions that make up the perinatal workforce. HHS must also disseminate guidance on respectful maternal care delivery. This guidance must cover, among other topics, recruiting and retaining maternity care providers from diverse backgrounds and incorporating trained midwives and other perinatal health workers into maternity care teams.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health must study best practices for culturally and linguistically congruent maternity care. This is care that is in agreement with the preferred cultural values, beliefs, languages, worldview, and practices of health care consumers and other stakeholders.

The Government Accountability Office must also report on certain aspects of perinatal health care professions. The reporting must focus on barriers to entering those professions for low-income and minority women.

Kira Johnson Act

This bill establishes various grants for establishing or expanding programs to advance maternal health equity.

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants for

• community-based programs to improve maternal health outcomes for demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, maternal health disparities, and other adverse outcomes;

• training for health care providers and others who work in maternity care settings on reducing and preventing racism, bias, and discrimination; and

• programs in hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings to establish processes to identify and address instances of racism or evidence of bias in maternity care (i.e., respectful maternity care compliance programs).

Also, HHS must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study issues related to the training programs, and the Government Accountability Office must study issues related to the respectful maternity care compliance programs.

Extending WIC for New Moms Act

This bill amends the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to extend the eligibility periods for breastfeeding and postpartum women.

Specifically, a state program may elect to certify a breastfeeding woman for up to 24 months (currently 1 year) postpartum. The bill also expands the eligibility period for postpartum women to up to 24 months after termination of pregnancy (currently 6 months).

The Department of Agriculture must submit a report to Congress evaluating the effect of these changes to the program on (1) maternal and infant health outcomes, (2) breastfeeding rates, and (3) qualitative evaluations of family experiences under WIC.

Keeping All Students Safe Act

This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding.

Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of seclusion, which is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. The term does not include a time out, which may involve separating the student from others in a non-locked setting.

The bill prohibits the use of mechanical or chemical restraints or physical restraints that restrict breathing or are life threatening.

The bill outlines the requirements for the use of physical restraint, including that the student's behavior must pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student or other individual. Each state must ensure that a sufficient number of program personnel are trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention training program. Additionally, each program must establish procedures to follow after an incident involving physical restraint.

Further, the bill establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services must withhold payments from a program for unlawful seclusion or restraint.

Finally, the bill requires each state educational agency (SEA) to establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures required by the bill. It also creates a grant program to assist SEAs with these activities.

25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center.

The sale of all coins issued under this bill must include a surcharge to be paid to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center to support operations and maintenance. However, if the issuance of this commemorative coin exceeds certain annual limits, no surcharge may be included.

Social Determinants for Moms Act

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a task force and a grant program to address social determinants of maternal health. These are nonmedical factors that impact maternal health outcomes, such as transportation, food security, and economic security.

The task force, composed of federal and nonfederal stakeholders, must develop strategies and coordinate efforts to eliminate preventable maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and maternal health disparities.

Additionally, HHS must award grants to community-based organizations, nonprofits, tribal organizations, public health departments, or consortia of these entities to address social determinants of maternal health and eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes.