Local doula program asks Caddo Parish for $65,000 to expand maternal supports

Alicia Mingo, founder and executive director of Berkeley for. and a licensed practical nurse, asked the Caddo Parish Appropriations Committee on the record for a $65,000 appropriation to expand a doula hospital-integration program that she said supports new mothers and prevents pregnancy-related deaths.

Mingo told the committee that the program has received about 130 referrals and has 46 clients actively enrolled, supporting roughly 133 families through home visits, accompaniment to medical appointments, childbirth and breastfeeding education, and resource navigation. "Caddo Parish has the highest infant mortality rate within the state," Mingo said, and she described persistent barriers—lack of transportation, inadequate care-navigation and situations in which mothers face possible child protective services involvement when they have no childcare.

Mingo framed the $65,000 request as funding for training and immediate supports that would enable local doulas and community health workers to scale services and participate in forthcoming state programs. "The $65,000 investment that I am requesting ... goes along to helping this emergency need because once somebody dies, they can't come back," she said.

Committee members asked about timing and eligibility. The chair confirmed the organization had a recent designation from the state but that its parish application missed the July 20 deadline; the chair said the committees would note the late submission and consider it because of the request's urgency. Commissioner John Atkins and Miss Frazier discussed how emergent applications are integrated into the existing review process and whether income and eligibility data will be tracked; Mingo said participants must meet at least two social determinants of health and are typically very low income.

The chair closed the presentation by saying committee staff will review the late application and follow up with the organization. No appropriation vote was taken during the meeting excerpt.