Summary

County Council recognizes Diaper Need Awareness Week

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WestSide Baby Executive Director Nancy Woodland and Jack Edgerton, Eastside Baby Corner Executive Director, hold the recognition from the County Council declaring Sept. 24-30 Diaper Need Awareness Week in King County

Far too many parents have to make the difficult choice of changing a diaper or letting their child stay in a soiled diaper to help extend their limited supply.

The Metropolitan King County Council today recognized Sept. 24-30 as “Diaper Need Awareness Week,” an effort to ensure that all infants and toddlers are clean, healthy, and dry by having the diapers they need.

The average infant or toddler requires an average of 50 diaper changes per week over three years. National surveys report that one in three mothers experience diaper need while their children are less than three years of age, and that nearly half of families delay changing a diaper to extend their supply.

You cannot use food stamps or WIC vouchers to buy diapers. Many childcare programs and quality early education programs require a sufficient supply of diapers for infants and toddlers, which can be an economic hardship on families.

In 2017, Westside Baby, a nonprofit that collects new and used items for children and babies and distributes them free of charge to King County families in need, distributed 1.4 million diapers.

King County is proud to be home to various community organizations that recognize the importance of diapers in helping to provide economic stability. Learn more online at either Westside Baby or Eastside Baby Corner.

“Each year we highlight Diaper Need Awareness week at the Council to bring attention a problem that too many families struggle with in King County. It is vital for the health of young children to have access to an adequate supply of diapers, and organizations like Westside Baby and Eastside Baby Corner do wonderful work to ensure that no children and families go without.”
--Council Chair Joe McDermott

“These two organizations do such great work providing diapers to families all across the County. Their contributions are critical in helping families facing financial stresses and helping babies be healthy and happy.”
--Council Vice Chair Kathy Lambert

“This is a number we are very proud of, and we have a long way to go to end diaper need in our community. In 2017, 23% of King County children lived in families who have found it difficult to afford diapers. Additionally, we know families living in south King County are disproportionately impacted by diaper need at 13% higher than average. Diaper Need Awareness Week is a time for diaper banks and nonprofits who work with families and children to highlight the very important basic need of the diaper.”
--WestSide Baby Executive Director Nancy Woodland

WHEREAS, diaper need, the condition of not having a sufficient supply of clean diapers to ensure that infants and toddlers are clean, healthy, and dry, can adversely affect the health and welfare of infants, toddlers, and their families; and

WHEREAS, national surveys report that one in three mothers experience diaper need at some time while their children are less than three years old, and 48 percent of families delay changing a diaper to extend their supply; and

WHEREAS, 23 percent of families in King County struggle to afford diapers for their infants and toddlers; and

WHEREAS, there are no government assistance programs for the purchase or provision of diapers, and a monthly supply of diapers can cost as much as six percent of a full-time minimum wage worker’s salary; therefore obtaining a sufficient supply of diapers can cause economic hardship to families; and

WHEREAS, a supply of diapers is generally an eligibility requirement for infant and toddlers to participate in childcare programs and quality early education programs; and

WHEREAS, the people of King County recognize that addressing diaper need can lead to economic opportunity for the state’s low-income families and can lead to improved health for families and their communities; and

WHEREAS, King County is proud to be home to diaper banks such as Westside Baby and Eastside Baby Corner that recognize the importance of providing equitable access to diapers to ensure families in our community are healthy, strong, and supported;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, proclaim the week of September 24-30, 2018, as

in King County and encourage all residents to donate generously to diaper banks, diaper drives, and those organizations that distribute diapers to families in need, to help alleviate diaper need.

DATED this twenty-fourth day of September, 2018.