Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOH to establish doula registry and requires doula registration in order to practice doula care.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning doula care and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Doula" means an individual who is trained to provide physical, emotional, and informational support, but not medical care, to a woman during and shortly after pregnancy.
b. The Department of Health shall establish, maintain, and publish on its Internet website a Doula Registry to provide information on trained doulas for persons who may be interested in doula care. The department shall establish a process by which it solicits the submission of information to be maintained and periodically updated within the registry.
c. The registry shall include, but shall not be limited to the following information:
(1) a brief description of doula care;
(2) the name, county of residence, email address, and telephone number of each doula;
(3) the certification status, name of the certifying entity, certification expiration date, training, qualifications, and additional skills of each doula;
(4) rates charged and services offered by each doula;
(5) any available information on or an Internet link to previous customer reviews with regard to each doula's services;
(6) languages in which the doula is proficient;
(7) health insurance plans accepted by each doula; and
(8) any other information deemed relevant by the Department of Health.
2. A doula who fails to submit information to the Department of Health that is requested by the department to include in the Doula Registry, pursuant to section 1 of this act, shall be prohibited from providing doula care in this State.
3. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take
effect 120 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Health (DOH) to establish a doula registry and requires doula registration in order to practice doula care. The bill defines "doula" to mean an individual who is trained to provide physical, emotional, and informational support, but not medical care, to a woman during and shortly after pregnancy.
Under the bill, the DOH is to establish, maintain, and publish on its Internet website a Doula Registry to provide information on trained doulas for persons who may be interested in doula care. The registry is to include, but is not to be limited to the following information: (1) a brief description of doula care; (2) the name, county of residence, email address, and telephone number of each doula; (3) the certification status, name of the certifying entity, certification expiration date, training, qualifications, and additional skills of each doula; (4) rates charged and services offered by each doula; (5) any available information on or an Internet link to previous customer reviews with regard to each doula's services; (6) languages in which the doula is proficient; (7) health insurance plans accepted by each doula; and (8) any other information deemed relevant by the DOH.
Under the bill, the DOH is to establish a process by which it solicits the submission of information to be maintained and periodically updated within the registry. A doula who fails to submit information to the DOH that is requested by the DOH to include in the Doula Registry is to be prohibited from providing doula care in this State.