Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA) was founded in 1996 in Los Angeles, California to help women, “pregnant people,” and children access health programs offered by the government. The organization provides direct support, advocates policies, and aims to achieve health care transformation for low income and disadvantaged communities of immigrants and migrants. Food sovereignty, reproductive rights, economic equal outcomes, immigrant, refugee, and women’s rights, community and economic development, health and human services are its areas of focus. MCHA educates low-income women and families on and helps them enroll in health insurance coverage, understand eligibility processes, and access food and nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offered by federal and state governments. ¹

Partner Organizations

MCHA is a partner of Baila Network, a system that works to enroll Los Angelos immigrant families and essential workers in welfare benefits programs, provide them with legal services, and engage in community outreach. Other partners of BAILA include Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County, Northeast Valley Health Corp., St. John’s Community Health, Venice Family Clinic, Chinatown Service Center, the left-of-center Hunger Action Los Angeles, Vision y Compromiso, Asian Resources, Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement, and the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County. ²

Programs

Maternal and Child Health Access conducts programs regarding health policy, helps people enroll in CalFresh (a California food supplement program for low-income people who meet federal income eligibility rules), engages in health coverage outreach and enrollment and finds services for those who do not qualify, provides health-care program training and education designed to simplify the government’s application process, provides community services that aid in reducing costs of housing and food, conducts welcome-baby-home visitations, and a offers a voluntary program to improve physical and mental well-being for pregnant women. ^{1  3}

Activities

Maternal and Child Health Access was a co-signer of an April 27, 2021, letter to President Joe Biden that sought the end of the “fossil fuel era” and a phase-out of nuclear energy production terming it a “dirty, dangerous and costly” energy source. Other organizations that were signatories include Boston Impact Initiative (BII), 350.org, Appalachian Institute For Renewable Energy (AIRE), Bergen County Green Party, California Democratic Party Environment Caucus, Democratic Socialists of America Knoxville chapter, Earthworks, Greenpeace USA, Movement Training Network, Oregon Solar+Storage Industries Association, Plastic Free Delaware, and Solar Wind Works. ⁴

MCHA’s winter 2024 issue of MCH Advocate included an article titled “What Lies Ahead” which declared their intent to become active politically against potential Trump administration policies surrounding health care, abortion, and immigration. ⁵

Funding

In 2023, Maternal and Child Health Access reported receiving $3,643,211 from government grants, or 63.9 percent of its total revenue of $5,705,293. It obtained $2,062,082 from other contributions and grants. The remainder of revenue came from $8 in investment income and $1,500 in program service revenue. The organization’s salary expenses were $3,969,530. ⁶

Maternal and Child Health Access had a GoFundMe campaign as of October 28, 2025, with $1,475 raised against a goal of $50,000. ⁵

People

As of 2025, Susan Berke Fogel was chair of the board of directors of Maternal and Child Health Access and co-founder of the pro-abortion-access Pro-choice Alliance for Responsible Research. ^{7  8}

As of 2025, Celia Valdez was the executive director of MCHA and had been employed by the organization for 26 years. Valdez contributed to a 2024 Clark Hill Immigration Today podcast titled “The Fear of Access to Public Benefits for Undocumented Immigrants.” ^{9  10  11}

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

Maternal and Child Health Access was a cosigner on an April 2021 letter to President Joe Biden that asked the administration to promote weather dependent wind and solar power systems and “end the fossil fuel era.” The letter also advised the president to “Phase out nuclear energy as an inherently dirty, dangerous and costly energy source.” ¹²

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and from 1990 until 2021 accounted for 20 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ¹³ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ¹⁴ A 2020 analysis from Our World in Data reported that nuclear energy “results in 99.9% fewer deaths than brown coal; 99.8% fewer than coal; 99.7% fewer than oil; and 97.6% fewer than gas,” making it “just as safe” as wind and solar power production. ¹⁵ The U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that “nuclear energy produces more electricity on less land than any other clean-air source” and that it would require “more than 3 million solar panels to produce the same amount of power as a typical commercial reactor or more than 430 wind turbines.” ¹⁶

1. “990 Finder.” Candid. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://app.candid.org/profile/8466479/maternal-and-child-health-access-95-4555879?activeTab=1.
2. “About the Baila Network.” BAILA Network. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.bailanetwork.org/about.
3. “Benefits & Services.” CalFresh. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.cdss.ca.gov/food-nutrition/calfresh.
4. Letter to president Biden. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2022-4-27_Letter-to-Pres-Biden-re-End-Fossil-Fuel-Era-Accelerate-Transtion-to-Renewable-Energy.pdf.
5. “Mcha Homepage.” MCHA Homepage. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://mchaccess.org/.
6. “Maternal and Child Health Access” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. Form 990. 2022. Part I, lines 8,9,10,15. Part VIII, Lines 1e, 1f.
7. Board of directors – maternal and Child Health Access. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.mchaccess.org/directors.htm.
8. Susan Berke Fogel JD – Los Angeles County master gardener – los angeles county master gardener | linkedin. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-berke-fogel-jd-a705117/. 
9. Staff – maternal and Child Health Access. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.mchaccess.org/staff.htm.
10. Celia Valdez – Executive director, maternal and child health access | linkedin. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/celia-valdez-31111335/.
11. France, Alexandra. “38. the Fear of Access to Public Benefits for Undocumented Immigrants with Celia Valdez from Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA) and Immigration Attorney Nora Phillips.” Insights on Immigration, April 25, 2024. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.immigrationblog.clarkhill.com/blog/38-the-fear-of-access-to-public-benefits-for-undocumented-immigrants-with-celia-valdez-from-maternal-and-child-health-access-mchaand-immigration-attorney-nora-phillips.
12. Center for Biological Diversity, et. al. Letter to “The Honorable President Joseph R. Biden.” RE: NOW IS THE MOMENT TO ACCELERATE THE JUST, RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE AND END THE FOSSIL FUEL ERA. April 27, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2025. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2022-4-27_Letter-to-Pres-Biden-re-End-Fossil-Fuel-Era-Accelerate-Transtion-to-Renewable-Energy.pdf
13. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2025. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
14. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2025. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/
15. Ritchie, Hannah. “What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy?” Our World in Data. February 10, 2020. Accessed July 25, 2025. https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy  
16. “3 Reasons Why Nuclear is Clean and Sustainable.” U.S. Department of Energy. March 31, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2025. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/3-reasons-why-nuclear-clean-and-sustainable