California Passes First-Ever Bill To Give Poor Families Money For Diapers

Source: ThinkProgress

California lawmakers passed a bill this week that would give families on welfare with children under the age of two a monthly $50 voucher for diapers. It now waits for Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) signature or veto. When the bill was first introduced in 2014, it was estimated that 120,000 children would get the assistance.

Diapers are a huge expense. One infant can require up to 240 of them each month, which can cost $18 a week or nearly $1,000 a year. That’s an enormous share of a family’s budget for those below the poverty line — people in the lowest quintile spend nearly 14 percent of their income on diapers. Cloth diapers are not a viable alternative for many families, as laundromats won’t let people wash them and daycare centers usually require disposable ones.

That leaves families in a difficult bind. Nearly 30 percent of all women have experienced a time when they couldn’t afford diapers for their children. That leads a sizable share to stretch diapers when supply is running low, risking urinary infections and diaper dermatitis. Others have had to turn to family, friends, and charities to afford them.

One California city has already done something to help needy families. At the end of last year, San Francisco began distributing diapers directly to about 1,300 families on welfare.



Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/california-diaper-need-d9abd8c7a3f7?source=latest