§280g–18 Maternal Mental Health Hotline

Summary

The Secretary must set up and pay for a national maternal mental health hotline that gives emotional support, information, short help, and links to mental health and substance use resources for pregnant and postpartum women and their families or household members. The hotline must be available 24 hours a day, every day, offer voice and text help, and be staffed by certified peer specialists or licensed health or mental health professionals trained in maternal mental health and substance use prevention, identification, and intervention and in culturally and linguistically appropriate support. It must serve underserved groups and people with disabilities. The Secretary must make sure callers can be connected quickly to the Domestic Violence Hotline, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or Veterans Crisis Line when needed, run a public awareness campaign, and work with federal agencies (including SAMHSA and the VA) and with State, local, and Tribal public health officials (including those who run programs for low-income pregnant and postpartum people). The Secretary must send Congress a yearly report that evaluates the hotline, lists organizations staff can refer callers to, and may include other information. Congress authorized $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry this out.