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Western Center Roundup – April 2022

Our opposition to CARE Court, an opportunity to meet our advocates, and Black maternal health resources


Why Western Center Opposes “CARE Court” 

You may have heard about Governor Newsom’s “CARE Court” proposal, billed as a way for the State of California to help people with severe mental health challenges get off the street. Western Center, alongside 40+ organizations, submitted an official opposition letter to the legislative version of the proposal and we are vocal about our many concerns, which are mentioned in The Los Angeles Times (twice), The Sacramento Bee, and this blog post by our Director of Policy Advocacy, Mike Herald. The bill, SB 1338, passed out of its first hearing this week, which means much more debate to come.

With its lack of necessary interventions like guaranteed housing, we believe the framework of the proposal is fundamentally flawed and will lead to the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities and unhoused people, and likely create a chilling effect that will prevent people from seeking services for fear of being institutionalized. Additionally, by involving the court system the proposal will perpetuate institutionalized racism and exacerbate existing disparities in health care delivery since Black, Indigenous and other people of color are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with psychotic disorders than white people. All evidence shows that adequately-resourced, intensive, voluntary outpatient treatment — not court-ordered treatment — is most effective for treating the population CARE Court seeks to serve.

For more information about the CARE Court proposal and others meant to address California’s homelessness crisis, we invite you to join Western Center policy advocate Cynthia Castillo and senior attorney Helen Tran at 12:30 pm PT on Monday, May 16th for our virtual Meet the Advocate event.


Uplifting Black Maternal Health

Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) was April 11 –17th, but one week is not nearly enough to cover such an important issue. As you may recall, last year Western Center co-sponsored California’s Momnibus bill package to reduce birth disparities that too often prove deadly for Black people in our state. This year marked the 5th anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week, which was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) to increase awareness, activism, and community building around the issue. You can watch the Black Mamas Matter Alliance’s 2022 Black Maternal Health Week national call here.

Kudos to our partners at the National Birth Equity Collaborative (a BMMA founding member) for their rich 2022 BMHW programming!


California bill aims to reduce deaths for Black mothers

“If you really want to address the issue, it is going to take a serious investment and resources, whether that means providing every Black mother a doula or really investigating what’s happening when Black mothers die,” said Jen Flory, policy advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, which supports the bill.”

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Joint Statement: California’s Momnibus Bill Continues On After Attempt to Stop It

UPDATE as of Wednesday, 4/28/2021: The California Senate voted to remove SB 65 from the Senate Human Services Committee and send it back to the Senate Rules Committee. On April 28th, the Rules Committee decided to send it to Senate Appropriations; Appropriations has until May 21st to advance the bill to the Senate floor.

We thank Senate Leader Atkins for acting to keep the bill alive, and Senator Skinner for authoring the bill and staying the course to protect birthing people in California. We are deeply thankful to everyone supporting SB 65 – your calls, tweets, and emails make all the difference.

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SB 65, California’s Momnibus Bill to address maternal and infant mortality disparities, was held by the State Senate’s Human Services Chair. Before it was held by Senator Hurtado, SB 65 had no registered opposition, and had unanimous support in the Senate Health Committee, with several members asking to join as co-authors. Now the bill is at risk, as it only has until April 28th to be heard in committee before it can move through the legislative process.

As written, SB 65 would provide additional health care via extended Medi-Cal eligibility for postpartum people, doula care, investment in the midwife workforce, and cash assistance for people with very low incomes through pregnancy and in the first years of their babies’ lives, all throughout California. These comprehensive services are needed to reduce the disproportionate health disparities that Black and Indigenous birthing people and babies face in California. SB 65 also added important state oversight to the boards investigating maternal and infant death to gain better understanding and make recommendations on how to reduce such disparities.

News that the bill would be held came as supporters and witnesses waited to testify on its behalf before the committee. This happened at the same time that the guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin was read. People around the world took the verdict as a sign of hope, that this country’s system of laws and policy may in fact have the ability to uphold the sanctity of Black lives. But for those waiting in vain to testify for SB 65 in California, it did not feel like Black lives were being protected, as politics got in the way of protecting people who face obstacles to healthy birth outcomes in our state — disproportionately Black and Indigenous people.

For many of us working for a more just future for Black lives, it is important that the lives we say matter are meaningful to us more than in just death. Making sure that we are actively working to dismantle systemic barriers, including socio-economic and institutional racism, is an essential part of the work. There is no excuse for SB 65 to be held. The need is obvious, the support is resounding, and Black and Indigenous lives matter. The California Legislature needs to show that they are willing to take action to protect not just Black and Indigenous birthing people, but everyone who will benefit from the passage of this bill, which includes millions of people in California.

 

 

A Black Mother Told Not to Scream in Labor Asks: Can California Fix Racism in Maternity Care?

Bettye Jean Ford was in her second trimester when the pressure she had been feeling in her abdomen for weeks turned to excruciating pain. She rushed to a Los Angeles emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home with antibiotics. Still cramping severely, the first-time expectant mother spent the next 24 hours trying to sleep.

The next morning, her obstetrician found her dilated and sent her to the hospital next door where an ultrasound confirmed she was in labor. Rather than being admitted, she was sent back to the clinic with paperwork to finish.

…Advocacy groups including Black Women for Wellness and The Western Center on Law and Poverty, an anti-poverty organization, sponsored the bill after noticing how racial discrimination persists in medicine regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

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