RFP 2025-1600-0151 - Maternal Mortality & Violence Prevention

Background
The Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Health, Section of Women's, Children's, and Family Health (WCFH) is seeking a vendor to address maternal mortality and violence prevention in Alaska.

The initiative aims to increase access to culturally-matched, community-based doulas for birthing patients from populations experiencing disparities in maternal deaths from violence. This effort is supported by the Alaska Maternal Child Death Review (MCDR) Committee's findings that violence significantly contributes to preventable maternal mortality, particularly affecting Indigenous and minority women.

Work Details
The contractor will organize, recruit for, and teach an Alaskan-centered birth helper/doula curriculum for a minimum of twelve participants per year in rural Alaska or urban Alaskan communities.

The curriculum will focus on trauma-informed prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. Additionally, the contractor will mentor trainees through three perinatal client experiences. Key deliverables include:
1) A plan and timeline for implementation within one month of contract receipt;
2) Recruitment and training of birth helpers/doulas;
3) Core competencies in prenatal support, trauma-informed care, safe sleep practices, and self-care;
4) Regular meetings with the WCFH project team;
5) Submission of program monitoring data quarterly;
6) Development of integration strategies for trained doulas into health care systems.

Period of Performance
The initial period of performance is from February 14, 2025, to September 29, 2025, with an option for one additional year at the State's discretion.

Place of Performance
The services will be performed in rural Alaska or urban Alaskan communities.