ARTICLE 1. Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health [123225. - 123260.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 1.
in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123232. Section 123232.

(a) The department shall develop or obtain a brochure to educate pregnant women and new parents about the important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing chronic diseases of both of the following: (1) Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. (2) Staying active every day. (b) The brochure shall address how proper nutrition and exercise help prevent the development of chronic disease in pregnant women, new mothers, and young children. The brochure shall also include information regarding the critical role of fruits and vegetables in a person’s diet, especially as an important source of vitamins and nutrients to new mothers and their breast milk. (c) The department shall include the brochure on the department’s Web site. (d) The brochure shall be distributed as follows: (1) By the department to each individual who contacts the BabyCal program and receives a package of information from the program. (2) By a provider to each participant in the Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program one time during the participant’s pregnancy. (e) The brochure shall be available in both English and Spanish. (f) This section shall be implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal or private funding, or both, are available for that purpose.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123235. Section 123235.

The program may include the provision of educational, preventative, diagnostic and treatment services, including medical care, hospitalization and other institutional care and aftercare, appliances and facilitating services directed toward reducing infant mortality and improving the health of mothers and children. The department may make grants or contracts or advance funds from any funds that are made available for the purposes of the Maternal and Child Health Program Act (Section 27).

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123240. Section 123240.

(a) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the department shall conduct a pilot project to assess the effectiveness of daily ambulatory uterine monitoring devices and services in reducing preterm births in Medi-Cal eligible women. (b) The department shall implement the pilot program to assess the incidence of preterm births in 1,000 women at high risk of preterm birth, 500 of whom shall be provided daily ambulatory uterine monitoring services between the 23rd and 36th weeks of gestation and 500 of whom shall be provided routine prenatal care augmented by training in palpatation. Women participating in the pilot program shall be Medi-Cal eligible women. To the maximum extent possible these services shall be prescribed by providers participating in other programs administered by the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the department or the comprehensive perinatal program. (c) Women shall be deemed to be at high risk if they have multiple gestation or any two of the following risk factors for preterm labor; uterine malformation, a history of preterm labor or births, cervical incompetence, cervical dilation or effacement, and those patients who have been treated during the current pregnancy for preterm labor. (d) The department shall select five counties to participate in the project, at least one of which shall be a rural county, and shall reimburse providers of ambulatory uterine monitoring services a fee based on reasonable costs. (e) (1) The department shall also contract for an evaluation of the pilot project to ascertain whether use of the ambulatory uterine monitoring services significantly reduces the incidence of preterm births. The evaluation shall compare the experimental and control groups and identify the following for each group: (A) The number of preterm births. (B) The number of hospital days used by the mother prior to delivery. (C) The number of hospital days used by the mother and child after delivery, including neonatal intensive care. (D) The number of children born with developmental disabilities or conditions that may lead to developmental disabilities. (E) The costs of providing prenatal services. (2) The evaluation shall also project the costs associated with the health care provided to the mother and child during the course of the pilot project and, if feasible, shall project the longer term health care costs of children born prematurely, including costs of services provided to the developmentally disabled. (3) The department may enter into the contract on a sole source basis. (f) (1) The pilot project established pursuant to this section shall be considered successful if it shows that the experimental group, when compared to the control group, had all of the following: (A) A 20-percent reduction in the number of premature births. (B) A 20-percent reduction in the number of antepartum hospitalization days. (C) A 20-percent reduction in the number of neonatal intensive care unit days for premature births. (D) A 20-percent reduction in total patient costs. (2) The department shall submit the evaluation to the Legislature by September 1, 1990. (g) (1) The department shall immediately seek any federal waivers necessary to ensure full federal financial participation in the pilot program established pursuant to this section. (2) The department shall not implement the pilot program under this section until necessary federal waivers are received.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123250. Section 123250.

Upon request the department shall advise all public officers, organizations, and agencies interested in the health and welfare of mothers and children in the state.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123255. Section 123255.

(a) The department may maintain a maternal and child health program in each county. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may allocate, for the purposes of maintaining a maternal and child health program, to a county an amount determined in a manner as the director shall provide. The total of all county allocations shall not exceed the annual appropriation for this purpose. (c) To be considered for an allocation, the county’s governing board shall submit a plan and budget for the county’s program in accordance with maternal and child health plans and priorities to be approved by the department under Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 701 et seq.). The department shall establish the procedures and format for submission of the plan and budget. The plan shall conform to the department’s maternal and child health priorities that are in accordance with the core public health functions of needs assessment, policy development, and assurance. (d) The department shall establish minimum standards that govern the basis for allocations to counties, including, but not limited to, the services to be provided, administration, staffing, fiscal accountability, and eligibility for services. The department may recoup or withhold all or part of a county’s allocation for failure to comply with those standards. (e) Claims for reimbursement shall be made in a manner as provided by the director for activities provided in accordance with the plan and budget for the fiscal year in which the expenses upon which the claim is based are incurred. (f) There shall be no reimbursement for any of the following: (1) Projects or programs identified unless previously approved by the department as part of the maternal and child health plan. (2) Capital improvements. (3) The purchase or construction of buildings except for the equipment items and remodeling expenses as may be allowed by the department on a case-by-case basis. (g) The department and counties shall maximize the use of federal funds available to implement this section, including using state or county funds to match funds claimable under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396 et seq.). (h) (1) For purposes of this program, the department shall reimburse a county pursuant to this section in lieu of renewing or commencing a cooperative agreement with a county for the operation of a maternal and child health program. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that cooperative agreements between the department and a county for the operation of a maternal and child health program pursuant to this section be replaced by the process described in this section beginning with the 1997–98 fiscal year.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123259. Section 123259.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that there continues to be a statewide gap between mortality rates for Black infants and those for other population groups. While there have been modest but statistically significant declines in infant mortality generally, including a decline in Black infant mortality, the rate of mortality among Black infants continues to be two to four times higher than the rates for other groups statewide. Furthermore, preterm birth, which is the leading cause for infant death, has increased for the third straight year in California. The social support, stress management, and empowerment model of the Black Infant Health Program is an evidence-informed intervention program designed to reduce Black infant mortality. Other interventions that show promise but do not currently receive state support would enhance the impact of current funding for Black infant health. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the establishment of Community Centers of Excellence in perinatal health based on public health science concerning the causes of persistent inequality and current best practices to narrow the gap. It is the further intent of the Legislature to direct funding to local health jurisdictions to ensure the leadership and coordination required for widespread and lasting change in public awareness and in public health and clinical practice.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123260. Section 123260.

(a) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for this purpose, the State Department of Public Health shall establish the California Perinatal Equity Initiative to expand the scope of interventions provided under the Black Infant Health Program. The initiative shall foster Community Centers of Excellence in perinatal health and promote the use of interventions designed to fill gaps in current programming offered through the Black Infant Health Program. (b) (1) As part of the initiative described in subdivision (a), the department shall develop a process to allocate funds to up to 15 local health jurisdictions and to work collaboratively with state and local Black Infant Health programs for the purpose of improving Black infant birth outcomes and reducing infant mortality. (2) Participation in the initiative described in subdivision (a) is optional and local health jurisdictions that participate in the program shall agree to the terms of this article. (3) Allocations made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be used by local health jurisdictions for any of the following purposes: (A) Creating a local grant program to develop local Community Centers of Excellence in perinatal health. Recipients of local grants shall be hospitals, federally qualified health centers, health centers that are closely related to federally qualified health centers, women’s health clinics, county clinics, clinics operated by a private nonprofit organization that qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, or community-based organizations that have demonstrated capacity to work with public health and health care systems as well as within the Black community. Recipients of local grants shall implement or expand at least two of the following: (i) An evidence-based or evidence-informed group prenatal care program that has shown promise in reducing the incidence of adverse birth outcomes and that includes, but is not limited to, improvement in health provider preterm birth screening and ongoing, risk-appropriate care for Black women to better identify and prevent preterm births. (ii) Pregnancy intentionality, preconception, and interconception care programs. (iii) Fatherhood or partnership initiatives that support engagement of partners in pregnancy and childbearing. (iv) Evidence-based or evidence-informed home visitation programs inclusive of case management to increase advocacy and empowerment for Black women and to ensure linkages to prenatal care, monitoring, life planning, birth spacing, infant development, and well-being. (v) A strategy that is not described in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive, that is justified based on local needs and resources, if a local health jurisdiction determines that the strategy combines social interventions with medical interventions, including integration of mental health services in perinatal health care and other wraparound services, including, but not limited to, assessment, personalized case management, doulas, patient navigator services that increase patient empowerment, and access to and utilization of evidence-based interventions that reduce preterm birth and infant mortality, and that the strategy is evidence-based or evidence-informed in relation to reducing adverse birth outcomes. (B) Providing technical assistance to recipients of local grants, and coordinating with local partners, such as hospitals, federally qualified health centers, health centers that are closely related to federally qualified health centers, county clinics, and other community-based organizations. (C) Carrying out local public awareness efforts around birth outcome inequities and the importance of preconception health, group prenatal care, evidence-based interventions to prevent preterm births, and social support during pregnancy, and to promote the role of fathers and partners as supports for women during and after pregnancy. (D) Participating in collaborative statewide learning efforts and sharing best practices. (E) Collecting and reporting data and information on process and outcome measures regarding the programs and activities carried out with allocated funds. (c) The department shall, as part of implementing the initiative, consult with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, representatives of county health departments, current or former participants in the strategies described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), health providers, or organizations representing health providers that provide services to improve Black infant health outcomes, advocates, and any appropriate state department or agency. (d) Funds provided to an eligible entity pursuant to this section shall supplement, and not supplant, funds from other sources for infant health equity programs or initiatives. (e) For purposes of this section, “local health jurisdiction” means a county, city, or city and county health department that meets the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 101175) of Part 3 of Division 101.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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