California Just Became The First State To Give Every Newborn 400 Free Diapers

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced this week that California is launching Golden State Start, the first program of its kind in the United States to provide free diapers to every newborn born in a participating hospital, with each family receiving 400 diapers at no cost upon discharge starting this summer. The program was announced ahead of Mother's Day and is being operated in partnership with Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that distributes essential items for infants and has developed its own manufacturing process that produces diapers at roughly 80 percent of typical market cost. During the first year, the program will operate at 65 to 75 hospitals that together handle about a quarter of births in the state and primarily serve low-income patients on Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, with plans to expand to additional hospitals over time. Newsom framed the announcement simply: affordability is not a slogan, it is a box, and this is a box of diapers.

The program addresses a need that advocates say is often underestimated: Baby2Baby co-CEOs noted that one in two American families struggles to afford diapers, and that diaper insecurity can compromise infant health when families stretch a limited supply or delay changes. California has already eliminated its sales tax on diapers, offers free meals for all public school students, and provides universal preschool for four-year-olds, and Newsom has framed the diaper program as the next step in the state's broader effort to address the cost of raising a family in one of the most expensive states in the country. The state's Health Secretary said the first days at home with a newborn should be focused on love and connection, not on stress about affording essentials. The first-year funding for the program was allocated through the 2025-2026 state budget, with additional funding proposed for the following fiscal year pending approval by the state legislature.

Source:https://apnews.com/article/california-free-newborn-diapers-newsom-56ba887bbd92d61bd56b58c6cfd8b04f