Gov. Gavin Newsom’s free diaper program is moving forward in a tentative California budget deal — over the objections of skeptical Democratic and Republican lawmakers who say the program reeked of favoritism.
Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles nonprofit with deep Hollywood ties, is poised to keep running Newsom’s Golden State Start diaper program after his administration sought an exemption to allow the group to avoid a formal bidding process while receiving a $12.5 million contract extension into next year.
The program, which launched ahead of Mother’s Day, provides 400 free diapers to newborns discharged from participating California hospitals, regardless of family income.
The nonprofit’s co-CEO, Norah Weinstein, sits on the board of the California Partners Project, a nonprofit co-founded by first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
That connection has fueled questions over whether Baby2Baby received favorable treatment through a request-for-information process that critics say provided less oversight than a traditional request for proposals.
State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat from San Fernando, raised the issue directly during a budget hearing last month, questioning why Baby2Baby was selected despite what she called “the closeness to the first partner.”
“I will say the optics of this vendor is not good at all,” Menjivar said.
She also questioned why the state is providing diapers to all families, saying lawmakers would be left to defend the program after Newsom leaves office.
“The administration and the governor is going to be gone, and we’re going to continue to get hit on this,” Menjivar said.
“Optically speaking, it was not a smart move to choose the vendor that we chose.”
Officials with the Department of Health Care Access and Information defended the process at the hearing, saying the state received 15 responses from vendors, nonprofits, diaper banks and others. They said Baby2Baby was selected after proposals were evaluated for cost, distribution capacity and ability to meet the program’s goals.
Newsom’s office has previously said the budget language was needed to ensure the program’s continuity as it expands to more hospitals statewide.
But Republican lawmakers remain unconvinced.
State Sen. Tony Strickland, of Huntington Beach, said the deal shows “the waste and inefficiency of government.”
“When you break down the cost, they’re going through a nonprofit run by someone close to the governor’s wife, and it comes out to about 50 cents per diaper,” Strickland said. “You can go to Target and find diapers for 16 cents apiece. That just shows the waste and inefficiency of government.”
Baby2Baby officials have said the nonprofit was contracted for $6.2 million in the first year, covering 40 million diapers for roughly 100,000 births — about 15.5 cents per diaper. They said the California Partners Project had no role in the Golden State Start initiative and that Weinstein volunteers on the California Partners Project board without pay.
Strickland said the Legislature’s broader budget deal is moving ahead despite concerns about new spending and taxes.
“There’s no stopping it,” he said. “At a time when we have record revenues coming in, we’re spending up to match those revenues in a way that can’t sustain itself, and we’re going to have a structural deficit moving forward.”
Baby2Baby is backed by celebrity donors and Hollywood power players, the same universe of wealthy liberals who could be important for Newsom if he runs for president in 2028.
Baby2Baby’s public-facing “Angels” roster reads like a Hollywood donor call sheet, with Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Blake Lively, Drew Barrymore, Amy Adams, Kristen Bell, Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kerry Washington, Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen, Zoe Saldaña, Hilary Duff and Ali Wong among the donors.
Its board includes celebrities like Jessica Alba, Ciara, Miranda Kerr and Kelly Rowland.
Perhaps never before has a diaper deal smelled so much like cash.
