CINCINNATI — Ohio has become the first state in the nation to offer parents the option to sign up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library directly when registering their child's birth certificate.

The initiative, championed by Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine, aims to get free books into the hands of more children from birth through age 5.

"We're the first one to have the birth certificate option, and we have more kids in our program in Ohio than any other state," DeWine said. "We have about 405,000 kids that are signed up right now, and that's more than any other program in any other state."

The Imagination Library sends books every month to children free of charge. DeWine pushed to make enrollment standard for every child born in Ohio, giving families an easy way to access the program.

DeW

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