The Oklahoma State Department of Health has received nearly $8 million in federal funding to expand its maternal, infant and early childhood home visiting services, which support at-risk pregnant people and parents with children up to kindergarten entry.
The Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program allows local organizations to provide home visits from nurses, social workers and other health workers to help families with prenatal care and postpartum support. It also supports things like breastfeeding, safe sleep, early language development and developmental screening.
President Joe Biden signed legislation doubling the funding for this program over five years in 2022. This award announcement of over $440 million for 56 awardees marks the first opportunity for states and jurisdictions to receive federal matching funds alongside base grants.
During the 2023 fiscal year, Oklahoma’s home-visiting program supported nearly 2,000 participants in Comanche, Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. About 93% of the 946 households served were at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line Guidelines.
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a press release this grant funding will build on work to address maternal health in the U.S.
“This includes a critical $440 million to support pregnant women, new mothers, and their children through home visiting programs that will improve health outcomes, child development, and access to resources for years to come,” Harris said.
The Biden-Harris administration also announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investing $118.5 million over five years to build public health infrastructure to identify and prevent pregnancy-related deaths more effectively. It will expand support to Maternal Mortality Review Committees from 46 to 52 states and U.S. territories and freely associated states.
"Every pregnancy-related death is a tragedy for the family and the community," said the CDC Division of Reproductive Health Director Wanda Barfield. "Thanks to [Maternal Mortality Review Committees], we know more about the causes and circumstances around pregnancy-related deaths, and we have actionable recommendations to prevent future deaths. This investment will support more jurisdictions in their critical work to save mothers' lives."
Oklahoma’s maternal mortality rate sits at 31 deaths per 100,000 live births from 2019-2021. Nationally, the rate was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022.
