10 Grantees Will Work to Mitigate the Pervasive Effects of Systemic Racism
LOS ANGELES – Infant and maternal mortality rates for Black mothers and infants in Los Angeles County have been steadily improving over the past decade, but remain significantly higher than the rates for other racial and ethnic groups. African American babies in the county are two to three times more likely to die before their first birthday than other babies, and African American women are four times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy or delivery/postpartum complications. Researchers blame systemic racism. Today, L.A. Care Health Plan is announcing a $1,370,000 commitment in an effort to mitigate the pervasive effects of such racism. This marks the third round of grants under L.A. Care’s Generating African American Infant and Nurturers’ Survival Initiative (GAAINS).
“L.A. Care is committed to advancing health equity, and that requires us to invest in organizations that are working to address systemic racism,” said L.A. Care CEO John Baackes. “The grant funding will go to organizations that are working to broaden community awareness of this problem, highlighting the barriers that negatively affect Black infant and maternal health outcomes, and launching projects to address those barriers head-on.”
Ten organizations will receive GAAINS grants of up to $150,000 each. One of the grants is going to Birthing People Foundation.
“The GAAINS grant has made it possible for our organization to secure our lease and begin renovations on our maternity care and birth center in the heart of the City of Lancaster, an area where our type of service and care is currently nonexistent, but sorely needed,” said Kimberly Durdin, LM, Executive Director of the Foundation. “We are so grateful for this opportunity to provide these critical services to the community.”
Another grantee is CinnaMoms, a breastfeeding and postpartum support organization that is part of Public Health Foundation Enterprise (PHFE) WIC, the nation’s largest Supplemental Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. It is also a program of Heluna Health.
“The GAAINS funding will allow us to provide prenatal support services for an additional 50 unduplicated African American/Black women and their families from a dedicated space in the Crenshaw District,” said Shannon Whaley, Director of Research and Evaluation at PHFE WIC. “Women and their families will be paired with culturally congruent WIC Nutrition Assistants for individual and group education and breastfeeding support. This project will also integrate the CinnaMoms program more deeply within WIC by training 400 staff members and enhancing their competency in addressing structural barriers that affect Black/African maternal and infant health outcomes.”
The 10 grantees are:
Birthing People Foundation
BreastfeedLA
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
CinnaMoms
Frontline Doulas
Gray Bayne Film and Media, LLC
Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance
In Due Time Coalition
Eisner Health
St. John’s Community Health
The GAAINS III projects will run through mid-January 2026.
The GAAINS grants are part of L.A. Care’s commitment to advancing health equity, giving everyone a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.