1. (1) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall, in cooperation with maternal and infant health and mental health professional societies:

   1. (a) Develop written information on perinatal mental health disorders and make it available on its website for access by freestanding birthing centers, hospitals that provide labor and delivery services, and the public; and
   2. (b) Provide access on its website to one (1) or more evidence-based clinical assessment tools designed to detect the symptoms of perinatal mental health disorders for use by health care providers providing perinatal care and health care providers providing pediatric infant care.

2. (2) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall establish the Kentucky Maternal and Infant Health Collaborative. The collaborative shall be composed of the following members appointed by the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services:

   1. (a) Four (4) representatives of health care facilities that provide obstetrical, newborn, maternal, and infant health care, one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists;
   2. (b) Two (2) providers of maternal mental health care;
   3. (c) Two (2) representatives of university mental health training programs;
   4. (d) Two (2) maternal health advocates;
   5. (e) Three (3) women, each of whom shall have experience living with at least one
   6. (1) of the following: 1. 2. 3. Perinatal mental health disorders; Substance use disorder; and Intimate partner violence;
   7. (f) One (1) public health director of a local health department in the Commonwealth; and
   8. (g) The commissioner of the Department for Public Health or his or her designee.

3. (3) The purposes of the collaborative shall be:

   1. (a) Improving the quality of prevention and treatment of perinatal mental health disorders;
   2. (b) Promoting the implementation of evidence-based bundles of care to improve
   3. (c) patient safety; Identifying unaddressed gaps in service related to perinatal mental health disorders that are linked to geographic, racial, and ethnic inequalities; lack of screenings; and insufficient access to treatments, professionals, or support groups; and
   4. (d) Exploring and making recommendations for funding allocations to address the need for services and opportunities funding other grant and supports for perinatal mental health disorders.
4. (4) The collaborative shall annually review the operations of the Kentucky Maternal Psychiatry Access Program established in KRS 211.123.
5. (5) The objectives set forth in subsection (3) of this section may be achieved by incorporating the collaborative's findings and recommendations into other programs administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that are intended to improve maternal health care quality and safety.
6. (6) On or before November 1 of each year, the collaborative shall submit a report to the Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children, the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services, and the Advisory Council for Medical Assistance describing the collaborative's work and any recommendations to address identified gaps in services and supports for perinatal mental health disorders.

Effective: June 27, 2025

History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 121, sec. 5, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 207, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2024. -- Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2023. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/27/2025). 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 121, sec. 24, provides that the Act, which amended this statute, may be cited as the Mary Carol Akers Birth Centers Act. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/29/2023). Pursuant to 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 4, a reference to the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare, and Family Services in subsection (4) of this section has been changed in codification to the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services and the Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/29/2023). An erroneous reference to the "Advisory Council for Medicaid Services" in 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 1 [this statute], has been corrected in codification to read, "Advisory Council for Medical Assistance," which was established in KRS 205.540.