No. CS/SB 514
Filed under Healthcare.
Doula Support for Healthy Births Pilot Program; Establishing the pilot program in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties for a specified purpose, subject to a specific appropriation in the General Appropriations Act; requiring the Department of Health, in collaboration with its maternal and child health section, to implement and oversee the pilot program; requiring the department to collaborate with specified entities to integrate doula services into existing maternal health programs and facilitate outreach and service delivery; creating the Doula Certification Task Force within the department for a specified purpose, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA new pilot program integrates doula support into maternal health care in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, but only if the legislature separately appropriates funding for it in the General Appropriations Act.
The program targets pregnant and postpartum women who have overcome or are overcoming substance use disorders, offering prenatal, labor, postpartum, and advocacy support alongside required emotional support through pregnancy and after birth.
Doulas remain legally unlicensed and non-clinical; instead of a licensing requirement, a nine-member Doula Certification Task Force is created to recommend minimum certification standards in a report due by January 1, 2028.
The task force itself is temporary and tied to the pilot program, set to expire on October 2, 2029, so any certification standards it recommends would need separate action to take permanent effect.
AIA new pilot program is created to integrate doula services into maternal health care for pregnant and postpartum women recovering from substance use disorders, limited to three specific counties and dependent on future budget appropriations.
AIThe new law defines doulas as nonmedical professionals and states directly that they are not clinical providers and are not licensed, meaning the pilot program does not create any professional licensing requirement for doulas.
AIParticipating programs must provide prenatal, labor, postpartum, and advocacy support, plus comprehensive emotional support throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, rather than leaving the scope of services to each program's discretion.
AIThe Doula Certification Task Force is created with nine members: three appointed by the Governor, three by the Senate President, and three by the Speaker, at least one of whom must be a doula.
AIThe task force must recommend minimum certification standards covering education, training, supervised practice hours, background screening, and ethics, though the standards are recommendations rather than requirements this bill itself imposes.