More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act or the MOMS Act
This bill establishes requirements to enable the collection of certain child support during pregnancy, establishes grants for supportive services for women that promote alternatives to abortions, and requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a website with pregnancy resources other than those about abortions.
Specifically, the bill requires states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy under the Child Support Enforcement program. (The program enables states to receive federal matching funds for expenses related to child support enforcement activities and related services.) Such child support applies at the request of the mother and may be applied retroactively.
Also, HHS must award grants to nonprofits to provide pregnant and postpartum women, and women parenting young children, with services or information on topics including health care (excluding abortions), child care, and employment assistance. It also requires HHS to provide grants to health care providers in rural or medically underserved areas, as well as tribal areas, to purchase equipment enabling telehealth visits for prenatal and postnatal care (e.g., monitoring devices).
Additionally, the bill requires HHS to establish a public website to inform pregnant and postpartum women, and women parenting young children, of nearby services and resources on topics including health care, material or legal support, and alternatives to abortion. States must, as a condition of receiving certain federal funds, provide lists of nonprofit child placement agencies for potential inclusion on the site.
