New Jersey was the only state in 2019 to pass legislation and provide budget funding for doula services in response to statistics that illustrate the increased mortality rates among specific racial demographics. In New Jersey, the bill passed the legislature on March 25, 2019 and was signed into law on May 8, 2019. Pilot programs and funding allocated through the state laws that have been passed are being administered through local agencies in “high-risk” areas of the state.
Eight local agencies have received funding that will provide doula and other related perinatal services.
- The Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey
- Central Jersey Family Health Consortium
- Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition, Inc.
- Project Self-Sufficiency of Sussex County
- Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative
- The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey
- Children’s Futures
- SPAN Parent Advocacy
In addition to government resources, the Nicholson Foundation of Newark, New Jersey has awarded a grant to the Uzazi Village of Kansas City, Missouri for the training of doulas of color within the state of New Jersey.