§ 46:972.1 — Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative

Louisiana § 46:972.1

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 46: Public Welfare and Assistance

Text

§972.1. Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative
A.(1) The Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative is hereby created, within
the Department of Children and Family Services, to act as a statewide social service program
to enhance and increase resources that promote childbirth instead of abortion for women
facing unplanned pregnancies and to offer a full range of services, including pregnancy
support services, parenting help, and adoption assistance.
(2) The department shall implement a program by contracting with a single nonprofit
organization to serve as general contractor to manage the provision of services under the
Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative. The general contractor shall subcontract on
a fee-for-service basis with existing nonprofit pregnancy centers, adoption agencies,
maternity homes, and social service organizations to provide services that promote childbirth
instead of abortion. The general contractor shall not provide any direct client services. The
department shall impose no other requirements on the Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care
Initiative general contractor except those contained in this Section and in its standard terms
and conditions.
(3) The general contractor selected by the department shall include as part of its
program budget marketing expenses to make Louisiana residents aware of the Louisiana
Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative's services, as well as funds to develop and promote a
website that provides a geographically indexed list of available nonprofit subcontractors that
provide services.
B.(1) The program established by the Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative
shall provide only the following services:
(a) Counseling or mentoring intended to improve the pregnancy or parenting
situation, including care coordination for prenatal services, providing educational materials
and information about pregnancy and parenting.
(b) Referrals intended to improve the pregnancy or parenting situation, including
referrals to parish and social service programs; referrals for child care, transportation,
housing, and state and federal benefit programs; and referrals that connect clients to health
programs.
(c) Classes intended to improve the pregnancy or parenting situation, including
classes on life skills, healthy pregnancies, budgeting, parenting, stress management, job
training, and job placement.
(d) Material items intended to improve the pregnancy or parenting situation,
including but not limited to car seats, cribs, maternity clothes, infant diapers, and formula.
(2) Program subcontractors may provide services in addition to the services provided
for in this Subsection, but the services shall not be funded through the Louisiana Pregnancy
and Baby Care Initiative.
(3) The provision and delivery of services under the program shall be dependent on
participant needs, as assessed by the nonprofit organization providing the services and not
otherwise prioritized by any state agency.
C.(1) Program services shall be made available to any Louisiana resident who is:
(a) A pregnant woman.
(b) The biological father of an unborn child.
(c) The biological or adoptive parent or legal guardian of a child thirty-six months
of age or younger.
(d) A program participant who has experienced the loss of a child.
(e) An immediate family member of a current biological parent who is a program
participant.
(2) Program services shall be available to participants only during pregnancy and
continuing for up to thirty-six months after birth of the child.
D. The department shall include as a condition of the contract with the nonprofit
organization selected as general contractor to provide program services that the nonprofit
organization shall submit a report to the department on or before seventy-five days after the
close of the state fiscal year, reporting on the administration of the program during the prior
fiscal year. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) The number of clients served by the program.
(2) The number of clients who received counseling or mentoring and the amount of
counseling or mentoring received.
(3) The number of clients who received classes and the amount of classes received.
(4) The number of clients who received referrals and the amount of referrals
received.
(5) The number of clients who received material items and the amount of material
items received.
(6) Any other information that shows the success of the contractor's administration
of the program.
E.(1) The Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative shall be implemented
effective August 1, 2024. The Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative shall replace
the Louisiana Alternatives to Abortion Program administered by the department. The
Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative shall be funded in a separate line-item of the
General Appropriations Act or receive all funds appropriated for the Louisiana Alternatives
to Abortion Program.
(2) The department shall ensure that contracts with providers of the Louisiana
Alternatives to Abortion Program in effect prior to August 1, 2024, remain under contract
during the transition provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
(3) The Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative and any funds appropriated
or expended therefor shall not be used to perform, induce, or assist in the performing or
inducing of abortions or be used to promote abortions or refer for abortions, and funds
appropriated or expended for the program shall not be provided to organizations or affiliates
of organizations that perform or induce abortions, assist in the performing or inducing of
abortions, or promote abortions or refer for abortions.
F. The department shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to implement
the provisions of this Section. The rules shall include but not be limited to appropriate
oversight provisions and penalties for failure to achieve program objectives as provided for
in this Section, measures to ensure the clinical efficacy and financial viability of the program,
and benchmarks to achieve best practice outcomes. The department shall report annually to
the legislature on the status of the program.

Legislative History

Acts 2024, No. 329, §1, eff. May 28, 2024.