Seattle, WA – Today, the Seattle Human Services Department announced $75,000 in available funding to nonprofit agencies for birth doula services for low income women of color. The funding is available through request for qualifications (RFQ) process and is open to nonprofit, public, or private business models that have the capacity, certification, and experience to provide birth doula services.
Birth doulas will provide support to pregnant women before, during, and in the weeks following birth. Services include supportive home visits in the last trimester of pregnancy, attendance during labor and delivery, and postpartum home visits after babies are born. In working with vulnerable populations, Birth Doulas also serve as cultural and relational brokers with public health and other medical providers, social services, and government agencies.
The selected provider organization must have three years of experience providing birth doula services, be currently providing birth doula services at the time of application and must demonstrate capacity for immediate implementation of birth doula services upon contract award. Priority participants are low-income pregnant women of color, who may also be immigrant, refugee, homeless, or limited English speaking, and live in the City of Seattle.
The most qualified applicant will demonstrate experience providing culturally and linguistically relevant birth doula services that meet the needs of each family. Approximately $75,000 is available for Request for Qualification from HSD General Fund, with initial awards funded for the period of April 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. The application deadline is Monday, March 2, 2015 at 4 p.m.
HSD continues its effort to institute performance-based investments and uses data to steer the department’s resources to nonprofits who demonstrate their ability to serve the community’s most in need. HSD seeks to ensure the city’s finite resources are being directed to programs that can best leverage the investments for maximum impact on reducing disparities.
The Seattle Human Services Department is one of the largest contributors to Seattle’s safety net as it provides $99 million in funding through 522 contracts to nearly 200 agencies that support Seattle’s most vulnerable residents each year. The department works closely with its community partners, including other public and nonprofit funders and service providers, to understand current and emerging human service needs, and to create and invest in a comprehensive and integrated regional human services system.
For more information about HSD Funding Opportunities and application materials, visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities webpage.
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