Pregnancy and early childhood is considered a special time in life. However, any new parent will tell you it is also an expensive time. The cost of giving birth, caring for a new child, and child care can often be more than new parents make. 

To address the financial challenges that new parents face, Senator Whitney Westerfield introduced Senate Bill 34. This legislation contains a multitude of provisions that provide for the basic health and needs of new moms and babies, while also supporting them as they reenter the workforce and progress in their careers. 

To ensure new mothers and parents have access to the medical and health care they need, this bill would: 

  • Require insurers, including Medicaid, to provide a special enrollment period for pregnant women 
  • Require insurers, including Medicaid, to cover maternity care, lactation support, and breastfeeding supplies 
  • Create additional slots for waiver programs including 1,050 Michelle P slots, 400 Supports for Community Living slots, and 140 HCB slots each fiscal year.

In addition to medical care, new parents often struggle to afford their basic needs. This bill addresses this by:

  • Creating a rental assistance program for pregnant women and families with children younger than five. 
  • Creating a process to expunge eviction after a set number of years, seal eviction filings that do not result in an eviction, and prohibit minors from being named on evictions. 
  • Expanding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition program into Jefferson County. 
  • Creating an incentive program for schools to purchase locally grown, nutritious foods. 

Finally, this bill helps get new mothers the training and support they need to reenter the workforce and achieve financial stability by:

  • Maintaining pandemic-era investments in child care, such as expanded eligibility for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), higher provider reimbursement rates for child care centers, provider stability payments, and categorical eligibility for child care workers to receive support. 
  • Amending zoning laws to allow more family child care homes, which provide child care to a small number of children in a residential setting and often have more flexible hours. 
  • Ramping up the support offered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment & Training program to match that offered by the KY Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP). K-TAP job supports include transportation, housing, and health care. 
  • Establishing a tuition waiver for pregnant women and parents of children younger than five to further their education.

Being a new parent and having young kids can be joyous yet difficult, and Senator Westerfield’s bill would loosen the financial burden low-income families face during this time while also giving parents access to the workforce support and training they need to achieve financial stability. When parents have the health care and support they need, they can focus on thriving rather than surviving.

Learn more about the 2024 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children state policy and budget priorities at kyyouth.org/blueprintky/ and track progress of SB 34 at kyyouth.org/bill-tracker/.