A bipartisan bill at the Ohio Statehouse aims to make sure that when a pregnant or postpartum woman screens positive for depression, anxiety, substance use or another behavioral health condition, she actually gets connected to care instead of just collecting more paperwork. Senate Bill 352 would create a statewide referral system staffed with trained perinatal behavioral health professionals and peer supporters who can offer telehealth check-ins and guided “warm handoffs” into clinical services. Sponsors and advocates say the measure is built to turn screenings into real help.
What the bill does
Filed this month by Sens. Casey Weinstein and Jane Timken, Senate Bill 352 would require clinicians who screen a woman during prenatal or pediatric visits to offer a direct referral if the screening shows she is at risk. The legislation defines the perinatal period as starting at the beginning of pregnancy and ending one year after birth. It authorizes referrals either in person or through telehealth to programs designated by the Department of Behavioral Health. Those designated programs must be able to provide or coordinate peer support and behavioral health navigation for patients identified through screening, according to LegiScan.
How it would work on the ground
Under the proposal, frontline obstetric, pediatric and behavioral health clinicians who are not specialized in perinatal care would make a “warm handoff” to a regional team. That could mean a direct in-person referral or a telehealth connection to a team that can provide peer support and link patients to clinical services. Supporters say this would scale up programs already operating in parts of Ohio and put peer supporters at the center of care. Those peers are trained in crisis response, trauma-informed care, ethical boundaries and resource navigation.
“No mother should screen positive for a serious behavioral health concern and then be left without a clear path to support simply because of where she lives,” Sen. Jane Timken said, as reported by Cleveland.com.
Funding and the federal tie-in
The legislation creates a Perinatal Behavioral Health appropriation of $2,000,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026-27 biennium, for a total of $4,000,000. The money is intended to support partnerships with specialized access-to-care organizations and to fund peer services and referrals, according to the bill’s fiscal language. Sponsors say they plan to lean on a portion of Ohio’s federal Rural Health Transformation award, an approximately $202 million grant, to help cover startup and administrative costs instead of raising new state taxes. The appropriation text directs the Department of Behavioral Health to use the funds to partner with perinatal access organizations and to notify hospitals and birthing centers about how to make direct referrals, according to federal reporting on Ohio’s Rural Health Transformation award from CMS.
Why backers say it's urgent
Advocates say the bill targets a long-standing treatment gap. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect an estimated 10 to 20 percent of pregnant and postpartum people, yet many who screen positive never get connected to specialty care. Sen. Casey Weinstein warned that “screening without a clear pathway to care doesn’t reduce mortality,” and several Ohio health systems and professional groups have already signaled support for a statewide referral network, according to Cleveland.com.
National reviews also find that only a fraction of perinatal women who meet diagnostic criteria access mental health services during pregnancy and the months after birth, a gap that experts say peer supports and telehealth could help close, according to AHRQ.
What's next
SB 352 has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, and sponsors say a House companion bill is likely as lawmakers weigh next steps. If it advances, backers say the package could be folded into budget language or move as a stand-alone bill creating a statewide referral hub for perinatal behavioral health, a path outlined in coverage of the proposal and the state’s rural funding plan by State Affairs.
