WATCH: Governor wants government health-care workers to barge into homes of EVERY new baby in state ‘to make an assessment’

“Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit. You’re going to have a home visit within days, weeks, and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment and to see if you need some additional support and resources.”

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I’m sorry what?!

MA Governor Maura Healey says everyone who has a baby will be visited in their home by a government appointed healthcare provider “to make an assessment”

Stay out of our homes you power hungry creep https://t.co/HRtIkhOANb pic.twitter.com/BuIeYDhb8o

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 20, 2026

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Governor Maura Healey today announced new measures to strengthen postpartum care and mental health support for mothers and families across Massachusetts, with a focus on reaching people earlier, making support easier to access and helping providers connect patients to care when they need it.

Governor Healey is proposing $2 million to provide universal access to the Department of Public Health’s Welcome Family home visiting program statewide and $250,000 to strengthen the Department of Mental Health’s Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms, known as MCPAP for Moms. The funding will be included in an upcoming supplemental budget. DPH will also update state regulations to strengthen screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and help providers identify concerns earlier.

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Expanding Postpartum Support at Home

Governor Healey is proposing $2 million to expand Welcome Family, a voluntary and free home visiting program that supports parents and caregivers in the weeks after a baby is born.

Welcome Family currently serves approximately 3,000 births each year. The additional funding would give every parent and caregiver in the postpartum period across the state the opportunity to have a home visit, following Massachusetts’ approximately 68,000 annual births.

Through the program, an experienced maternal and child health nurse visits a family’s home following the birth of a child to check on both the caregiver and baby, answer questions and connect the family with additional support when needed. The service is available regardless of age, income or other eligibility criteria.

During a visit, nurses can help with breastfeeding and newborn care, screen for mental health concerns and substance use, connect families with health care and social supports, and provide referrals for needs including domestic violence, food access and other community resources. Nurses follow up with caregivers by phone two to three weeks later to make sure they were able to connect with services, address barriers and provide additional support.

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Helping Providers Recognize Concerns Earlier

Governor Healey is also proposing $250,000 to strengthen MCPAP for Moms, a Department of Mental Health program that helps health care providers prevent, identify and treat mental health and substance use concerns during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

MCPAP for Moms gives obstetricians, pediatricians, primary care providers, psychiatrists and other clinicians real-time access to specialists in perinatal mental health, along with care coordination and training.

The additional funding would allow the program to:

• Track postpartum psychosis data across Massachusetts to improve understanding and clinical response;
• Create a clinical education team to help mental health providers recognize and manage perinatal behavioral health concerns; and
• Expand education for mothers, families and providers about the early warning signs of postpartum psychosis and when to seek help.

The goal is to make sure providers are better equipped to recognize serious concerns and help mothers get connected to appropriate care as quickly as possible.

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