(a) The California Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund (RJ Fund) is hereby established. The goal of the RJ Fund is to dismantle historic and standing systemic reproductive and sexual health inequities through medically accurate, culturally congruent education and outreach, as well as to create innovative strategies that meaningfully address and function to eliminate root causes of reproductive oppression. (b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the State Department of Public Health shall award grants from the RJ Fund to eligible community-based organizations over a three-year period. (1) On or before July 1, 2023, the department shall post the grant application on its internet website and solicit applications. (2) On or before December 31, 2023, the department shall award grants to selected entities based on the eligibility criteria. (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), any civil penalties deposited in the RJ Fund pursuant to Section 1798.99.92 of the Civil Code shall be awarded by the State Department of Public Health in the form of grants, subject to the criteria specified in subdivisions (d) to (h), inclusive. (d) A grant recipient shall use any grant funds awarded pursuant to this section to implement a program or fund an existing program that provides and promotes medically accurate, comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education. (e) A program funded pursuant to this section shall do all of the following: (1) Promote reproductive justice. (2) Provide medically accurate, culturally congruent reproductive and sexual health education that is inclusive of information on abortion rights, care, and services. The education or outreach provided by a program shall include information on how to obtain an abortion or provide abortion referrals, especially upon request. (3) Be targeted at communities that have experienced or continue to experience high reproductive or sexual health inequities or disparities. This includes communities that have experienced reproductive or sexual health inequities or disparities because of historic and systemic oppression, including based on their race and ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender expression, foster youth status, or disability. (f) A grant recipient may use a portion of grant funds to pay for costs associated with carrying out grant activities. An assessment of associated costs shall contemplate the community-based organization, the community served, and the nature of services it provides, and may include all of the following: (1) Building staff capacity. (2) Development and dissemination of materials. (3) Travel costs. (g) The department shall not spend more than 5 percent of the funds appropriated for the purposes of this section on administrative costs. (h) For purposes of this section: (1) âCommunity-based organizationâ means a public or private not-for-profit organization that provides education, resources, or services and is representative of a disparately impacted community or significant segments of a community or has demonstrated status as a trusted part of the community that it serves. (2) âCulturally congruent educationâ means education that takes account of the cultural beliefs, values, norms, patterns, way of life, or practices of the target audience to provide appropriate and meaningful education. Culturally congruent education and outreach fits a personâs or communityâs lifestyle, values, and systems of meaning. It requires acknowledgment, respect, and adaptation of information to the cultural needs of the communities served. Additionally, it contemplates sociocultural and situational factors into education. (3) âMedically accurateâ means factual information, verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods, published in peer-reviewed journals, if appropriate, and recognized as accurate and objective by the relevant professional organizations. (4) âRacial equityâ
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