Gov. Gavin Newsom Announces New Diaper Program For Newborns

SACRAMENTO — Newborns won’t beryllium leaving nan infirmary empty-handed successful California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced connected Friday that nan authorities is partnering pinch Baby2Baby to supply 400 free diapers to each newborn. Baby2Baby is simply a nationalist nonprofit based successful California that provides clothing and different basal necessities to children.

The politician said it would thief families pinch nan rising costs of living.

“Since nan pandemic, we person seen nan costs of diapers spell up by 45%,” said Newsom, speaking astatine a property convention successful San Francisco. “One retired of 4 families skip meals to salary for diapers.”

The caller program, dubbed nan Golden State Start, will motorboat this summer. Participating hospitals will administer nan diapers to families astatine nan clip of discharge. Forty cardinal diapers will beryllium distributed during nan program’s first year, pinch a extremity of later expanding nan programme to supply 160 million.

Newsom said nan authorities will prioritize hospitals that service ample numbers of parents enrolled successful Medi-Cal, California’s type of nan national Medicaid programme providing healthcare sum to low-income Americans. The authorities plans to later grow to further hospitals and birthing centers.

The politician described nan programme arsenic nan first of its benignant successful nan nation.

“We are not imitating; we are a exemplary to others,” he said.

Kim Johnson, caput of nan California Health and Human Services Agency, said nan inaugural would thief families bask their first fewer weeks astatine location pinch a caller baby.

“The first days astatine location pinch a newborn should beryllium focused connected nan love, connection, and joyousness of an expanded family, not accent astir affording diapers,” Johnson said successful a statement. “This programme helps guarantee families tin statesman that travel pinch greater stableness and bid of mind.”

The National Diaper Bank Network, a nationalist nonprofit that tracks diaper insecurity, recovered astir 60% of low-income families nationwide struggle pinch nan costs of diapers and trust connected less-frequent changes to get by. The statement said soiled diapers time off babies astatine consequence of processing rashes aliases urinary tract infections.