No. HB 1043
Filed under Healthcare.
Doula Workforce Development ; Establishes Doula Workforce Development Support Program within Department of Commerce for specified purposes; provides requirements for grant funding & use of such funds; provides requirements for department to administer program; requires department to submit certain report to Governor & Legislature by specified date annually; authorizes department to require grant recipients to submit certain data; authorizes department to adopt certain rules. APPROPRIATION: $7,500,000
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDFlorida creates a new grant program, funded by a one-time $7.5 million appropriation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, to expand the doula workforce, especially in rural, minority, and other underserved communities.
Grants go only to doula training organizations, such as nonprofits, community programs, and schools, not to individual doulas directly, though funds can pay stipends to newly trained doulas through those organizations.
The department must prioritize high-need regions: urban counties with high maternal-death disparities, rural areas with few or no obstetric providers, and areas hit by hospital or maternity-ward closures.
Any of the $7.5 million not spent or legally obligated by June 30, 2027 reverts to the state's general fund, and the bill itself is inconsistent about which agency, Commerce or Economic Opportunity, actually runs the program.
AIThe bill creates the Doula Workforce Development Support Program to fund, strengthen, and expand doula training programs, doula organizations, and community-based birthing-services providers, financed by a one-time $7.5 million appropriation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
AIThe department must prioritize grant support for entities serving high-need regions: urban counties with high maternal morbidity disparities, rural areas with limited or no obstetric providers, and communities hit by recent hospital or maternity-service closures.
AIAny of the $7.5 million appropriation not expended or encumbered by June 30, 2027 automatically reverts to the state's General Revenue Fund, giving the department roughly one fiscal year to stand up the program and commit the funds.
AIGrant funds go to eligible doula training entities, meaning nonprofits, community-based programs, training collectives, academic institutions, or private educational providers, not to individual doulas; a doula can only receive money as a stipend administered through one of those entities.
AIThe department may not use program funds to directly recruit, hire, or employ doulas as state employees or contractors who provide clinical services, keeping the program's role limited to funding outside training organizations.
AIBy December 1 each year, the department must report to the Governor and legislative leaders on grant recipients and award amounts, the number of doulas trained or mentored, geographic distribution of activity, and workforce outcomes, and may require grantees to submit supporting data.