Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI)

Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI) is sponsored by Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Aims to develop innovative models integrating community-based maternal support services into perinatal systems of care.

Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI) | Office of Minority Health Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI) On September 27, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced the award of more than $13 million in grants to 11 organizations for its Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative (COPHI), aimed at developing innovative models that integrate community-based maternal support services into perinatal systems of care.

Considerable health disparities persist among pregnant and post-partum women. Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic women experience disproportionate share of pregnancy related mortality and morbidity in US.

Community-based maternal support services (COMSS) provide social and supportive care that addresses non-medical drivers of health including but not limited to health literacy; pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting education; housing; food insecurity; and medical and non-medical transportation.

COMSS are provided during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the post-partum period by trained individuals, such as doulas and community health workers, as well as through emerging digital technology tools. COMSS have been shown to support a continuum of care and improve health outcomes for pregnant and post-partum women by reducing maternal care fragmentation through enhanced care coordination.

Award Recipients City State Amount Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. dba Heluna Health City of Industry CA* $1,249,815 The Regents of the University of California, Irvine Irvine CA $1,228,564 Clayton County Health District Jonesboro GA $1,250,000 Boston Public Health Commission Boston MA $1,190,425 Henry Ford Health System Detroit MI $1,230,000 Saint Francis Medical Center Cape Girardeau MO $1,116,106 University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha NE $1,015,069 The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey** Trenton NJ** $1,250,000 Washington County Hillsboro OR $1,229,998 Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island Providence RI $1,230,119 Bexar County Hospital District DBA University Health San Antonio TX $1,249,903 Total : $13,240,000 * Project implemented in 4 Parishes in Louisiana: Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St.

Bernard . ** Project implemented in Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico . Date Last Reviewed: January 2026