California MHTF Doula Organization Awards | California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative

Training and Strengthening the Medi-Cal Doula Workforce in California

The California Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF), in partnership with MOMS Orange County as a fiscal intermediary, is offering funding through Enhancement Awards for California doula organizations that serve Medi-Cal birthing communities with high-quality, respectful, and trauma-informed care.

Enhancement Awards will support community-based organizations (CBOs), doula hubs, and doula organizations in training, recruiting, and/or supporting doulas, and/or with introducing and connecting doulas to public health programs, healthcare providers, and maternal health CBOs/agencies.

All organizations were notified of their application status on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. If you did not receive a notification from MOMS Orange County, please contact davelugo@momsorangecounty.org. Awarded organizations will be publicly announced after September 2.

Goals of the Enhancement Awards

Increase the number of doulas in Medi-Cal birthing communities
Expand the doula workforce in California areas with little-to-no doula service, and/or expand the number of doulas supporting families in different languages with high-quality, respectful, and trauma-informed care
Support existing organizations that enable Medi-Cal doula care
Expand existing doula organizations that unite public health, healthcare, providers, and communities to improve risk assessments and referrals for Medi-Cal members during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum

Award Amounts

Any California-based CBO, doula hub, or other doula organization can request a one-time grant of between $25,000 - $35,000.
Each applicant organization chooses an amount to request based on their specific needs.
Between 10-14 awards of $25,000 - $35,000 each will be distributed, for a total of $382,000 in funding.

Selection Criteria

Important: Applicant organizations must be based in the California. Awards will be made to organizations, not to individuals.

When determining awards, the California MHTF will prioritize applicant organizations that demonstrate:

Success in training new doulas and/or enrolling existing doulas in Medi-Cal;
Recruitment, training, convening, and/or providing ongoing support of multiple doulas;
Conducted or co-facilitated trainings to improve doula capacity to enroll in Medi-Cal, contract with Medi-Cal managed care plans, and bill Medi-Cal for doula services;
Active engagement with community and an understanding of public health programs and community services; and
Experience with navigating and billing Medi-Cal for doula services.

It is not necessary for an applicant organization to be engaged in all of these activities. However, strong applications will demonstrate high engagement with one or more activities.

Proposal Deadline

Applicant Resources

The following event recordings are available as applicant resources:

[Optional] Award Overview Webinar and slide set

Hear from the California MHI Program team about the awards, goals of the initiative, selection criteria, and reporting requirements.

[Optional] Applicant Technical Assistance Office Hours Webinar (audio recording only)

Does your organization have technical questions about eligibility, application requirements, or the process to apply? The California MHI Program team addressed applicant questions in an open group setting. (For assistance with confidential questions, please email info@cmqcc.org.)

Funding Acknowledgement

The California Maternal Health Innovation Program and California Maternal Health Task Force are a partnership of the California Department of Public Health—Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division, Office of California Surgeon General, California Department of Health Care Services, and California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, and are supported by the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration through a five-year, $10 million State MHI award.