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The only pediatrician — and doctor — in the state Legislature treats vulnerable children in her office, and now she’d like to help them as a policymaker.

Senator Lisa Reynolds wants to reverse cycles of poverty, drug addiction, illiteracy and mental illness by funding programs for vulnerable people during pregnancy and their child’s first year of life.

It’s the most effective way to help children reach their full potential later, she told members of the Senate Human Services Committee on Tuesday during a presentation of her initiative – which she calls Momnibus – which will be presented at the next session. It follows the “Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act” that was introduced and dropped in Congress last year and stems from her practice at the Children’s Clinic in Southwest Portland.

Research shows that the brain develops during the first years of life.

“If there are disruptions during this time, whether it is a situation where a parent is not able to truly bond or become attached to a child, or even in the worst cases, when the child is removed from their home due to endangerment, it actually interrupts the development of the human brain,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds, a Democrat who chaired the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services, focused on children’s issues during her two terms representing the 34th House District, northwest of Portland . In November, she easily won a third term, but was sworn in Monday as a senator, filling the Portland seat vacated by Elizabeth Steiner, who is also a doctor and was just elected state treasurer.

Reynolds has more than a dozen children in his foster care practice — all because their parents have a drug problem. The initiative would aim to reduce these placements by addressing drug and behavioral health issues, poverty and housing vulnerable pregnant people and their children early in life and expanding the traditional health workforce to include more trained doulas, lactation specialists and peer workers. professionals with personal experience with addiction and mental health issues.

Addressing poverty, addiction and homelessness in an integrated way and focusing on young children is the only way to move things forward, Reynolds said.

A U.S. senator, Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey, introduced a similar plan to Congress last year. His “Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act” would be

Build on current programs

She is working on the initiative with Eugene pediatrician Dr. Angela Zallen, who told the committee the state should expand two related programs: Project Nurture and Nurture Oregon. Project Nurture at Health Share of Oregon, a large Medicaid insurer in the Portland area, provides prenatal, inpatient and postpartum maternity care to women with substance abuse disorders. The program has reduced the placement of children in foster care and decreased child neglect and abuse, according to Health Share. It stems from Nurture Oregon, a program launched by the Oregon Health Authority in 2015 that provides maternity care, substance abuse treatment and social service coordination. The agency launched Project Nurture as a pilot program in Multnomah County and expanded the program to Benton, Deschutes, Jackson, Lincoln and Umatilla counties.

The Momnibus initiative would further expand the program and ensure five-day hospital stays at any time during pregnancy or immediately after birth to support the mother through withdrawal, begin drug treatment, and assist with breastfeeding and bonding.

Another axis of the initiative is housing. It proposes funding long-term rental assistance for vulnerable families during the first year of their child’s life and encouraging the construction of multi-bedroom units in subsidized housing projects. Reynolds said ensuring stable housing is key to getting families off to a good start.

“When we talk about the importance of being present and bonding with your baby, that’s really hard to do if you’re homeless or you’re really afraid of losing your home,” Reynolds said.

Last month, the Oregon Health Authority launched a Medicaid initiative that provides rental assistance to vulnerable patients for up to six months. The program is experimental and includes nearly $1 billion in funding for housing and other services. Most of the money comes from the federal government, and Reynolds said it could be used to help families stay housed during the crucial first months of their children’s lives.

“We’re really looking at banning the eviction of a baby or a pregnant person simply for non-payment of rent,” Reynolds said.

Fighting labor and poverty

The initiative also includes measures to increase the perinatal workforce, create a fund for perinatal providers while establishing a task force to recommend other ways to strengthen and diversify the perinatal workforce. of perinatal work.

The last axis of the initiative is child poverty. Among some ideas, Reynolds and Zallen said the state could expand the existing child tax credit for low-income parents by increasing the amount allowed and extending it to more people by raising the income limit.

“When we talk about moving things forward to reduce child endangerment, kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading scores, or substance use disorder prevention, it’s really about putting end child poverty,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds and Zallen have been working on this initiative for more than a year with Oregon health, human services and housing professionals. They met with Gov. Tina Kotek and her team and discussed ideas with advocates and nonprofits. The initiative has the support of officials from the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Housing and Community Services, as well as advocates for underserved populations, members from the medical community and social services experts.

Reynolds doesn’t know how much these measures would cost or whether she will introduce a series of measures or one big bill. But she said the initiative would change Oregon’s current approach to social services by directing funding toward the beginning of life rather than paying after problems appear.

“We need to have the courage and willingness to reprioritize some of our spending streams to provide resources up front instead of catching people up once they’ve fallen off the deep end,” Reynolds said .