California hospitals will soon provide free diapers to newborns thanks to new state program
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SACRAMENTO — Newborns won’t be leaving the hospital empty-handed in California.Gov.
Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that the state is partnering with Baby2Baby to provide 400 free diapers to every newborn.Baby2Baby is a national nonprofit based in California that provides clothing and other basic necessities to children.
The governor said it would help families with the rising cost of living.“Since the pandemic, we have seen the cost of diapers go up by 45%,” said Newsom, speaking at a press conference in San Francisco.
“One out of four families skip meals to pay for diapers.”Engage with our community-funded journalism as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.The new program, dubbed the Golden State Start, will launch this summer.Participating hospitals will distribute the diapers to families at the time of discharge.
Forty million diapers will be distributed during the program’s first year, with a goal of later expanding the program to provide 160 million.Newsom said the state will prioritize hospitals that serve large numbers of parents enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program providing healthcare coverage to low-income Americans.
The state plans to later expand to additional hospitals and birthing centers.The governor described the program as the first of its kind in the nation.
“We are not imitating; we are a model to others,” he said.Baby2Baby Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof said they were proud to partner with California.“Diapers are at the core of our mission at Baby2Baby as a shocking one in two families in this country struggles to afford them,” they wrote in a joint statement.
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