Care for Her Act
This bill allows an eligible taxpayer to claim the Child Tax Credit for the tax year preceding the year the child is born. It also sets out other activities to support parents and pregnant women.
Specifically, the bill establishes the Pregnancy Support Collaborative, which consists of representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and states that elect to participate.
The collaborative must maintain a clearinghouse of information on providers of pregnancy and parenting supports and services. States must identify providers in their jurisdictions who meet applicable criteria for inclusion. In addition, the collaborative must share information about education and training opportunities for parents and pregnant women and identify successful programs (including workplace policies) to support them. Furthermore, the collaborative must award grants to states for local programs to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. If a community demonstrates that its program reduces Medicaid costs, it retains a portion of those savings.
If approved by the collaborative, HHS must award grants to providers in the clearinghouse for mentoring and training pregnant women and new mothers and addressing gaps in the availability of maternity housing. Additionally, HHS may award grants for pregnancy and parenting supports and services.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must jointly maintain a database of de-identified epidemiological and Medicaid claims data to evaluate the effect of maternity homes on maternal and infant health outcomes.