(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for a program designed primarily to increase the number of students receiving quality education and training as a certified nurse-midwife or a licensed midwife in accordance with the global standards for midwifery education and the international definition of “midwife” as established by the International Confederation of Midwives, in order to maximize the delivery of reproductive services to specific areas of California where there is a recognized unmet priority need.

(b) (1) The office shall establish a program to contract with programs that train certified nurse-midwives and programs that train licensed midwives in accordance with the global standards for midwifery education and the international definition of “midwife” as established by the International Confederation of Midwives in order to increase the number of students receiving quality education and training as a certified nurse-midwife or as a licensed midwife.

(2) The office shall only contract with programs that train certified nurse-midwives and programs that train licensed midwives that, at minimum, include, or that intend to create, a component of training designed for medically underserved multicultural communities, lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, or rural communities, and that are organized to prepare program graduates for service in those neighborhoods and communities, or that seek to recruit and retain racially and ethnically diverse students, underrepresented groups, or people from underserved or historically marginalized communities.

(3)  The office may adopt standards and regulations necessary to carry out this article. In adopting eligibility standards for programs that train certified nurse-midwives and that train licensed midwives in accordance with the standards set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b), the office may accept those educational standards and competencies established by the respective state licensing and regulatory bodies for certified nurse-midwives and for licensed midwives. The office shall take care not to implement education or competency standards beyond what is required for the training programs by their respective state licensing and regulatory bodies that could inadvertently create an unnecessary barrier for training programs to obtain funding for the training of midwives in California.

(4) The office shall develop alternative strategies to provide long-term stability for, or expansion of, this act, such as through funding provided by private foundations and administered by the office for the purposes of carrying out this article.

(5) Nothing in this article prevents the office from developing a protocol to contract with potential programs that train nurse-midwives or that train licensed midwives, in order to support the initial startup of new training programs, as long as the eligibility requirements of this article are met or can be met through the award of funds.

(6) The office may pay contracted programs that train certified nurse-midwives and programs that train licensed midwives in an amount calculated based on a single per-student capitation formula, or through another method, in order to cover the costs of innovative special projects or programs.

(7) Funds appropriated to the office for purposes of this article and awarded by the office to eligible programs that train certified nurse-midwives or programs that train licensed midwives may be used by the training program to develop new initiatives, projects, or curriculum, or to expand existing initiatives, projects, or curriculum. Awarded funds may also be used for general support and sustainability of the overall training program, or to sustain specific components of the training program, including, but not limited to, tuition assistance for students, or support for preceptor recruitment, or to sustain preceptor training sites for students.

(c) This section shall be implemented only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another act.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 449, Sec. 5. (SB 65) Effective January 1, 2022.)