“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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The wording is significant because Healey is proposing to move the program from a limited service into one available statewide. According to the governor’s office, Welcome Family currently reaches approximately 3,000 births annually. Massachusetts records roughly 68,000 births each year, meaning the proposed expansion would vastly increase the program’s potential reach.
There is an important distinction, however, between making the service universally available and requiring families to accept a visit. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health describes Welcome Family as a voluntary program. State information says parents and caregivers can receive a free, one-time visit from an experienced maternal and child health nurse, generally during the first several weeks following birth.
The state says most visits take place inside the family’s home, although parents who are more comfortable meeting elsewhere can arrange another location. The nurse can examine the health and well-being of both the caregiver and newborn, answer questions and connect the family with additional services.
And the scope of the conversation can extend beyond basic newborn care.
According to the state’s own family information, nurses can discuss breastfeeding, newborn care, nutrition and whether the home is safe. They can also ask parents about sleep, available support from family and friends, eating habits and whether they are feeling upset or depressed.
The program can also screen for mental-health concerns and substance use, while connecting families with healthcare and social services. Referrals may include assistance involving domestic violence, food access and other community resources. A follow-up phone call is generally made two to three weeks after the visit to determine whether the family was able to connect with the recommended resources.
That aspect of the proposal is likely to attract scrutiny from families and critics concerned about government involvement inside the home. At the same time, the administration argues that the home-based model allows healthcare professionals to identify problems earlier and connect parents with help before those problems become more serious.
Healey’s September 15 announcement also includes another $250,000 proposal for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms, known as MCPAP for Moms. The program assists doctors and other healthcare providers dealing with mental-health and substance-use concerns during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
The additional money would support several initiatives, including tracking postpartum psychosis data in Massachusetts, creating a clinical education team and expanding education for mothers, families and medical professionals about warning signs associated with postpartum psychosis.
Healey framed the broader initiative around the challenges new mothers can face after giving birth.
“Becoming a mother is a profound life change, and every parent deserves support—not just during pregnancy, but in the months that follow,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Postpartum depression, anxiety and other maternal mental health conditions are real medical conditions, and no mother should feel ashamed to ask for help or feel like she has to navigate this journey alone. We’re working to expand postpartum care, identify concerns earlier and connect families to the mental health support they need, because taking care of moms means taking care of the whole family.”
The governor’s office says the proposal will be included in an upcoming supplemental budget. The Department of Public Health also plans to update regulations concerning screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
The timing of the announcement has also drawn attention. Healey unveiled the initiative shortly after the mistrial in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy case, which generated renewed national discussion about postpartum mental health and the difficulty of identifying serious psychiatric problems after childbirth. WBUR reported that the governor’s announcement came amid that wider conversation.
Massachusetts officials point to existing results from Welcome Family as evidence for expanding the program. The governor’s office said that in 2025, the initiative conducted 1,620 postpartum depression screenings, with 208 people screening positive and all receiving referrals to services.
The proposal now moves beyond the governor’s announcement and into the state budget process. If lawmakers approve the funding, Massachusetts would significantly broaden access to a program that already provides postpartum home visits in communities across the state.
For parents, the central issue will be how that expansion operates in practice: whether families view the visits as a useful source of medical support or have concerns about healthcare professionals asking questions about their mental health, household circumstances and home environment.
For now, the state’s official position is clear: Healey wants every Massachusetts parent and caregiver to have the opportunity to receive a postpartum home visit, but the Welcome Family program itself is described by Massachusetts as voluntary.
The proposal therefore represents a major expansion of government-funded postpartum services—but not, based on the current state description, a requirement that every newborn family allow state personnel into its home.
