AB 492 would include diaper vouchers in family service supports provided to parents by CalWORKs
A bill by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to provide a monthly $50 dollar diaper voucher to parents in the CalWORKs welfare-to-work program was approved by the Senate Committee on Human Services recently on a bipartisan 4-0 vote.
AB 492 would offer a monthly $50 supplement per child age 2 or younger to parents enrolled in CalWORKs who also qualify for the childcare benefit. The monthly supplement to would only be used on diaper purchases, helping address a major barrier to parents seeking to enter and remain in the workforce by making childcare more accessible.
“Getting parents back to work means ensuring they can afford diapers,” Gonzalez said. “We’re investing in these families already because we know their success means California’s success, so let’s make diapers more affordable to help make that investment as effective as possible.”
Diapers are a necessity for infants and toddlers, costing families $72 to $100 a month per child, creating a barrier to financial stability. Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance such as CalFresh, the Women Infant and Children program (WIC), and Medi-Cal. Lack of child care is a leading barrier to parents returning to the workforce, and a lack of affordable diapers is a major impediment to accessing available child care options.
Further, missing child care due to diaper need is also a loss for the child themselves. In addition to risking a variety of health issues early in life, they miss the opportunity to participate in early childhood education, which more than doubles a child’s likelihood to go on to college.
The committee received testimony from Norah Weinstein, Co-President of Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that distributes diapers and other basic necessities:
“When we ask the low-income families Baby2Baby serves, every mom, dad or social worker says the first, second and third thing they need is diapers. I’m honored to be here today on behalf of the 125,000 children in our program because we need the help of California’s leadership to ensure all families have access to affordable diapers to protect their children,” Weinstein said.
AB 492 is joint authored by Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), and coauthored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Gardena). Gonzalez is also the author of AB 717, bipartisan legislation to exempt disposable diapers from sales tax.
Senators Mike McGuire (D-Santa Rosa), Janet Nguyen (R-Orange County), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge) voted in support of the bill. The bill will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
