Golden State Start is touted as the first statewide program to help with diapering newborns, sending families home from participating hospitals with 400 free diapers — in various sizes to keep up with a growing baby that first month or so.
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Funded in the 2025 budget, the program launched in May, and by the end of July had dozens of California hospitals participating or in the process of onboarding, according to a recent Department of Health Care Access and Information update.
Lead Inventory Clerk David Fonseca pushes a cart of diapers into the Mother-Baby Unit on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Alicia Salgado lays her newborn twins next to each other on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Daniela Contreras smiles to her newborn daughter on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Lead Inventory Clerk David Fonseca unloads a cart of diapers on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Supply Chain Supervisor Teresa Bassaline pushes a cart of diapers with Inventory Control Coordinator Ronnel Sabino on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Daniela Contreras and Jaciel Marcavo pose for a portrait while holding their newborn daughter on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Alicia Salgado holds one of her newborns on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Jaciel Marcavo holds his newborn daughter, Delilah, on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Jaciel Marcavo holds his newborn daughter on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
Carts full of Baby 2 Baby diapers fill the transition room in the Mother-Baby Unit on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Photo by Claire Nguyen, Contributing Photographer)
“Recent data shows diaper costs have surged 45% in recent years, with families spending roughly $100 per month per child on disposable diapers,” officials with the Providence health care system said in a press release. Providence’s St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and St. Joseph Hospital in Orange are participating in the distributions.
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Several Orange County-based hospitals have signed up to participate, including AHMC Anaheim Regional Medical Center, MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, according to the program’s contracted operator, which notes new hospitals are being onboarded weekly around California.
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Get more information at baby2baby.org.