Please describe your proposed solution
<u>What is a Doula?</u>
Doulas are non-traditional learners who may enter birth work through apprenticeship or shadowing. Most doulas are trained and certified, but there is not one standard training/certifying body. Each doula training organization teaches core competencies that are necessary to provide appropriate doula support. When a doula learner downloads the app, they are guided through introductory material about doulas, doula organizations, and becoming a doula. If they choose to begin the doula learning journey, DoulaID will connect them with certifying doula education organizations. As the doula learner completes courses and milestones they are given digitally verifiable credentials that can be used to assess their ideal placement as birth workers. Based on this assessment, learners can apply for jobs, register with Medicaid, and unlock new opportunities in the app. DoulaID will enable culturally congruent doulas to connect with the clients who need them the most.
<u>What is DoulaID?</u>
DoulaID is a RootsID app and grassroots organization that is helping address the maternal mortality disparity crisis in Baltimore. Over the last 2 years DoulaID has teamed with community doula organizations to manually enroll culturally congruent doulas with Medicaid. In collaboration with the Maryland health department, we are identifying how to improve successful enrollment of doulas. This effort is strengthening the doula network in Baltimore with Medicaid registered doulas who can access sustainable income while helping the clients who need them the most.
As the parent company of DoulaID, RootsID is leveraging our digital identity ecosystem to power the DoulaID app. DoulaID helps doulas navigate the complexities of a healthcare system that was built for doctors including; training, enrollment, scheduling, and payment. DoulaID allows users to focus on what really matters, healthy mothers and babies.
DoulaID is a RootsID app that invests in human potential by empowering doula learners and workers to engage with underserved clients, connect with sources of sustainable income, and access other vital resources. DoulaID guides users through the education, certification, networking, and payment process. DoulaID also helps birthing individuals connect with culturally congruent doulas. The DoulaID app is one part of the greater vision for doulas in underserved communities. We have partnered on a government proposal to build a learning collective hub for doulas, similar to what has been successful in Oregon and New Jersey. The hub is an environment where doulas receive training and certification and are provided support to be successful in the larger birth ecosystem. The doula hub would advocate for a thriving doula community, equitable compensation, ease of Medicaid reimbursement, and sustainable doula careers. DoulaID would be an integral part of the doula learning hub.
<u>DoulaID on Cardano</u>
There will be many different types of digital interactions that will require support from the Cardano blockchain. This includes strong cryptographically verifiable digital identity, transparent interactions and training/career/financial achievements that are cryptographically verifiable. Cardano and the Catalyst community will benefit from the rise of usage in the Cardano network, all in support for this important and visible human challenge and solution.
<u>DoulaID mocks</u>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0fse0irwC0<u>Additional information</u>:
Complimentary proposal:
This proposal is focused on the app and technology of the DoulaID solution. We previously submitted a supporting proposal to fund the human and governance components, in the Products and Integrations challenge of Fund 10.
More about the Maternal Mortality Crisis and Medicaid support:
Black women in Baltimore are 2.25 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than their White counterparts. Medicaid eligible Black mothers are at an ever higher risk for negative birth and postpartum outcomes. Birth work has a long tradition in black communities. Doulas of color are an integral part of the well-being of new families. Doulas have been shown to be especially effective at improving birth outcomes and maternal health in communities with the highest disparity.
Doulas are professional labor assistants and advocates who provide non-medical physical and emotional support during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Maryland Medicaid recently added reimbursement for doula services (up to $1427/birth). This funding is a key part of the solution to the maternal mortality inequity.
More about the organizational identity governance framework:
GLEIF, Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, was created in the wake of the 2007/08 economic crisis by the G20 countries to help improve financial stability worldwide and make sure counterparties to transactions could be readily revealed. GLEIF issues Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) that provides key information about businesses, funds and governmental organizations participating in business transactions, including their name, when they were formed and, crucially, their ownership structure. More than 2.3 millions of Legal Identifiers were issued so far to companies around the world, a number that is rapidly increasing over time as the regulation enforces their use.
Recently, the GLEIF began to issue a verifiable credential called vLEI (verifiable LEI) that allows the assertion of delegation chains and the digital proof of correctness of things like signatures in financial reports. The vLEI allows those Legal Entities to participate in the verifiable credential ecosystem.
Those verifiable credentials are based on a fully Decentralized Identity technology called KERI/ACDC that requires supporting witnesses to provide a second source of trust. On Fund 9, rootsID got funded to develop the first Proof of Concept for a KERI witness on a blockchain, a project that was delivered successfully on time.
RootsID is currently building a Catalyst F10 proposal for the RootsID Cardano Super-Watcher funded in Catalyst F11.
[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?
Answer:
DoulaID is a RootsID concept app that connects Doulas to the identity, training, insurance, credentials, accounts, professional experience, etc required to bill Medicaid. DoulaID is solving the business coordination and stakeholder challenge in parallel with the technology implementation effort. DoulaID is a grassroots organization engaging with local doula communities, doula training organizations, doula practices, the Maryland Department of Health and many more stakeholders. The interactions between doulas and their customers, providers, insurers, and more requires a rich set of verifiable credentials. DoulaID will promote a credential ecosystem that is rooted in the vLEI governance framework provided by GLEIF. This framework is the first major implementation of the open standard governance framework specification provided by Trust over IP. RootsID are contributing members of Trust over IP and are developers as well as participants in the GLEIF governance framework. DoulaID simplifies the complex processes for doulas who do not have the infrastructure and support of their medical counterparts like doctors, nurses, midwives, etc. We help them engage with training companies, doula practices, insurers, managed care organizations, and more.
DoulaID provides a platform that uses decentralized identity technology that:
- Incentivizes participation
- No need to manage user accounts
- reduce liability
- reduce IT infrastructure
- increase access
- increase support for multiple sources
- Provides complete cryptographic verifiability of every interaction
- increases speed
- decreases friction
- eliminates fraud
- Non-traditional learners like doulas are empowered with nuanced careers
- all significant interactions are verifiable and can be used to bolster Resume.
- Promotes Interoperability
- Leverages the global network of 2.4M LEIs
- Open Source/Standards identity software
- ISO standards
- Trust over IP
- Unlocks positive impact
- Doulas have been shown to reduce Maternal mortality in the US
- Creates sustainable non-traditional learner jobs
- Better care for low-income mothers
- Streamlines coordination in a decentralized ecosystem
- An extension of the GLEIF governance framework can be extended
The app also helps doulas to:
- Identify, organize, and interact with stakeholders
Our proposal allocates funds for the RootsID developers to converse with these stakeholders to provide the simplest app possible, to handle these complex interactions.
RootsID works closely with the GLEIF governance framework and the ToIP Governance Working Group. We are extending these specifications and frameworks for the Medicaid and doula structured ecosystems.
DoulaID has already published an initial report to the Maryland Department of Health who manages Maryland (Baltimore) Medicaid. The report detailed how to improve their doula registration process. The DoulaID will make this process easier for Doulas to follow and complete. It will include step-by-step instructions and unlock new features as the doula further qualifies as a care provider.
We will continue to publish more reports to Catalyst, the doula community, Maryland department of health, and other stakeholders for how to improve the access of doulas, Medicaid insured mothers, etc.