Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health

Our work "commanding action" involves informing and influencing federal and state Policy to further establish a foundation of understanding of Maternal Mental Health in the u.s. This includes the range and onset of Maternal Mental Health (mmh) disorders, the barriers to detection, improving access to evidence-based/promising treatments and supports, and to address the risk and systemic barriers facing marginalized populations. We are also promoting policies to support total general Health and well-being, including holistic obstetric care, child care, paid leave, and child tax credits, for example. Our long-term goal is to see both a reduction in the incidence of mmh disorders and a healthcare system that systematically detects those who are are risk and are suffering and consistently provides timely and supportive evidence-based interventions and treatments. In 2022-2023 we successfully introduced and passed the federal triumph for new moms act, which was signed into law through the ombinbus bill in december 2022. The bill called for the formation of a multi-sector and inter-government agency, task force on Maternal Mental Health ("task force"). The Policy Center wrote and championed this bill recognizing that low support for Maternal Mental Health and low detection and treatment rates are caused by many complex factors and that cross-sector and cross-government players are critical to solving this crisis. The task force launched in september 2023 and is charged with developing a national strategy to coordinate and improve federal activities and make recommendations to states to improve Maternal Mental Health in america. The Policy Center developed the inaugural state Maternal Mental Health report cards, which, together with a comprehensive federal and state Policy roadmap, were released in may 2023. The report cards were featured in various local and national news media, including cnn. National organizations utilized our recommendations as a reference point in sharing mmh Policy solutions, including the kennedy forum, national governors association, and families usa. Comment letters to lawmakers and federal agencies providing feedback on Policy are a fundamental part of our Policy work. This year we wrote ten letters to share our recommendations and Policy priorities with key federal leaders, served as a subject matter expert to key members of congress, including senate help committee leaders, and also supported other nonprofits' Policy work by signing on to 30 letters. We also conducted two congressional briefings. The first was unveiled the new Maternal Mental Health state report cards and Policy roadmap. The second briefing featured our issue brief on Maternal Mental Health and family planning, developed in response to the overturn of roe v. wade. The briefing also brought together experts who shared the latest research and opportunities for improving family planning. Finally, on a federal level, to ensure that the field had access to the latest developments in federal Policy, we analyzed 16 federal policies/programs and published related blogs. Regarding state Policy, this year, the Policy Center researched state legislation in all 50 states and launched new individual state Policy webpages for the 26 states that have passed some form of legislation since 2009. We also began what will be an annual analysis of state legislation by researching and reporting the legislation that passed in 2022.

During the past fiscal year, the Policy Center was active in producing "critical content" to catalyze the field. This included developing issue briefs on family planning and Maternal Mental Health, an updated Maternal suicide issue brief, as well as creating a general Maternal Mental Health fact sheet and fact sheets on childcare access and Maternal Mental Health, and american indian and Alaskan native (ai/an) Maternal Mental Health. We held several webinars. Most notably, a webinar on the latest developments in Maternal Mental Health screening featuring the first hedis screening rate data set, as well as a fireside chat on Maternal suicide. The Policy Center also released a u.s. Maternal Mental Health "risk and resource map," illustrating all u.s. Counties and the associated risk for Maternal Mental Health disorders and the resources available in those counties. The map is designed to support advocacy organizations in deploying state Policy solutions to increase the Maternal Mental Health workforce, and community-based organization access in their counties and states. The report card caught the attention of state policymakers and many news outlets, including cnn. The emerging considerations in Maternal Mental Health forum brings critical content to multiple cross-sector players, including policymakers, payors, patients, and providers. This was our 13th annual forum, held virtually on march 22-24th and attracted 900+ participants from across the u.s. It was our third all-virtual event, and the event again consisted of 3 days of programming, including two networking sessions. Ninety-four percent of attendees reported the forum provided insight on systemic barriers and solutions in Maternal Mental Health care, and gave a 4.5 (out of 5) average rating on the likelihood of attendees applying what they learned to their work.

Mom congress had another successful year under the two-year capacity grant provided by w.k. Kellogg foundation, concluding the year with 402 members. The 2023 Mom congress moms' agenda included 11 bipartisan bills addressing the Mom congress Policy priorities of Maternal Health, Maternal Health equality, Maternal Mental Health, and supporting working mothers through childcare access and paid leave. Nearly 100 Mom congress members representing 26 states gathered on the hill to support the passage of these bills on september 18th and 19th. Members scheduled and attended 88 meetings with congressional offices (38 house of representatives meetings, 44 senate meetings, five key committee meetings, and one meeting with a congressional working group). The event also supported members in learning how to write op-eds, support perinatal quality collaboratives in their states, and more. This work, along with Mom congress leaders supporting championing organizations by personally meeting with key leaders in the house and senate, led to the passage of five federal bills. Mom congress held many member engagement activities to strengthen our members' capacity and expand membership growth, including 13 moms' agenda bill trainings, 13 national partner actions alerts, and two virtual town hall sessions (also open to the public) Mom congress also held its annual "saving and supporting moms" congressional briefing during this time. At the briefing, the cdc released its most recent report on Maternal mortality. Additionally, speakers shared research regarding paid parental leave, childcare post-covid, and the current burden of Maternal Mental Health the Policy Center has been honored to found and incubate Mom congress. This year Mom congress filed for independent nonprofit status to grow and attract independent philanthropic funding while continuing to receive back-office support on a contract basis from the Policy Center.

All other related programs are comprised of our four key functions, which we refer to as our 4 cs. These include communities of practice, co-laboratory, and craveable content. The 4th c, commanding action, is referenced above.