Although there has been thoughtful commentary from those who have actually read the proclamation and the DIAPER Act, as in this piece by Matt DiRienzo of the Journal Register Company,  there have been others who find the mention of diapers alone a basis for ridicule.

Tell Governor Malloy you appreciate his leadership.  His website has a link to email the governor.

And celebrate Diaper Need Awareness Day (even if belatedly) by organizing a diaper drive or donating to your local diaper bank.

Susan Campbell of the Hartford Courant wrote about the DIAPER Act in a story that appeared on the front page of the newspaper..

KJ DellAntonia of Slate discussed Rush Limbaugh’s reaction to the bill in her article for her XXFactor column.

In an effort to be fair and balanced, there are contrary views, but we’re not sure they’re reading the same bill.

Rush Limbaugh reacted to the bill, as reported by Jon Bershad (you can see Rush’s reaction with this link).

And Audrey Hudson of Human Events (a website of the Heritage Foundation) provided this assessment.

We’re a bit astounded at those who have read the bill as adding to a family’s tax burden (there is no appropriation component), requiring parents to put their children in child care if they don’t want to (it doesn’t), or being anti-stay-at-home Mom (or Dad). Parents who want to stay at home with their children (and can afford to) are still free to do that.

What do you think? The Durham Patch of Durham, Connecticut is taking a poll.

Email Your Elected Officials

Meet with Your Elected Officials

TALKING POINTS TO SUPPORT THE DIAPER ACT

BACKGROUND:
● Families in need cannot buy diapers with either WIC vouchers or food stamps (SNAP).
● TANF is generally not enough to absorb cost of diapers (can be as much as $100/month for the average child).
● Children without diapers cannot participate in child care
● Parents without child care cannot go to school or work.

PROVISIONS OF LEGISLATION:
Provide diapers through child care centers to ensure reliable access to child care.
● A recent survey of mothers found that 4% of mothers have cut back on child care because they could not afford an adequate supply of diapers.
● Most child care centers will not admit a child who arrives without a sufficient supply of diapers.
Access to child care permits parents to participate in the workforce or job training.
● Parents who cannot leave their children with a child care provider cannot attend work or school.
● Because federal law also requires parents receiving assistance to work or attend training, parents on assistance without access to child care are at risk of losing federal support.

Protect the health and welfare of children and child care providers.
● Infrequent diaper changing increases the risks of urinary tract and skin infections.
● Without regular changes or proper disposal, soiled diapers can be a source for outbreaks of viral meningitis, dysentery, and Hepatitis A throughout the community.
● Children will miss fewer days of preschool due to diarrhea and respiratory illnesses.
● Parents will miss fewer days of work due to children’s illness
Relieve the economic and emotional strain families in need.
● Mothers in financial hardship reported that when they couldn’t change their baby’s diaper, their babies cried more and suffered from diaper rash more often
● The mothers often reported more anxiety.
● Diaper need adds to the stress experienced by families in financial hardship.
No increase in appropriations required.
● The bill seeks only a definitional change that allows Child Care Development Funds to be used for diapers to improve child care quality and access.

CALL TO ACTION:
● Ask your Representative and Senator to co-sponsor this bill sponsored by Representative Rosa Delauro.
● Have your Representative or Senator contact Leticia Mederos at leticia.mederos@mail.house.gov or call 202-225-3661

Remind your state leaders to remember diapers when drafting their submission for the RTT-ELC. Infants and toddlers without sufficient diapers cannot participate in most child care and early learning programs. Diapers are a basic need for infants and toddlers, and a need that must be met before infants and toddlers can fully participate in early learning programs.

Most child care centers do not provide diapers, so parents must bring sufficient diapers for the day, or the child cannot stay at the center. Families in need cannot buy diapers with food stamps (known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or “SNAP”) or vouchers from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (“WIC”), and must use what little unrestricted money they may have to buy diapers. Diapers can be very expensive—it generally takes around $1000 a year to keep a baby in diapers—so parents often ration diapers at home or do without. Child care providers describe a phenomenon they call “Monday Morning diaper rash” which results when a child has worn a soiled or wet diaper for long periods over the weekend because the parent wanted to conserve diapers for the work week.

Early Head Start programs are supposed to provide diapers for children in need, but unless diapers are called out as a separate line item in the budget, they may be lumped in with the “supplies” or “miscellaneous” lines which must be stretched to cover a variety of necessities for an Early Head Start provider. Other federally funded child care programs currently have no requirement to provide diapers.

As states compete for the latest Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, now is the time to tell your state legislators, education and early childhood agencies, and anyone responsible for the state’s Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) submission to “Remember the Diapers!”

A separate budget line item for diapers in the RTT-ELC submission will help satisfy the following assessment criteria for RTT-ELC submissions:

Core Areas
 (A)(4) Developing a budget to implement and sustain the work of this grant (15 points). Calling out diapers in the budget demonstrates a commitment to increasing the opportunity for children whose parents cannot afford a sufficient supply of diapers
 (B)(4) Promoting access to high-quality Early Learning and Development Programs for Children with High Needs (20 points) Making diapers available to children participating in RTT-ELC programs will increase the number of children who can participate, and may serve as an incentive for parents who are attracted by the promise of diapers to enroll their children

Focused Investment Areas
 C. Promoting Early Learning and Development Outcomes for Children. (60 points)
o (C)(3) Identifying and addressing the health, behavioral, and developmental needs of Children with High Needs to improve school readiness. Making diapers available to children in RTT-ELC programs will improve the health of children (preventing a range of health problems from an increased risk of urinary tract and skin infections to even communicable diseases such as viral meningitis, dysentery, and diarrhea), and improve their behavioral response and receptiveness to new stimuli once this basic hygiene need is met
o (C)(4) Engaging and supporting families Making diapers available to children participating in RTT-ELC programs will relieve the stress and the expense of providing diapers for families and may serve as an incentive for parents who are attracted by the promise of diapers to enroll their children

Unless state leaders are reminded of how diapers can affect a child’s access to early learning opportunities, they may neglect to address this need and inadvertently limit access to these programs for children in need. Remind state legislators and officials responsible for drafting state proposals in response to RTT-ELC to Remember the Diapers!

1. Email Your Elected Officials
   Sending an email to your elected officials is a quick and easy way to let them know that you demand that they commit to helping secure diapers for people in need as a condition of your vote.
2. Call Your Elected Officials
   You can call your Members of Congress by calling  (202) 224-3121       and asking to be connected to the office of your Representative or your Senators. Once you are connected to the right office, ask to speak to the staff member who works on children’s issues, poverty issues, or elder care issues. Have in mind a specific request of your representative when you call. For the latest news about diaper rights, see our News tab.
3. Send a Letter to Your Elected Officials
   Writing a personal letter is a great way to communicate with your elected officials. Personalized letters are well-received by elected officials, as they know it takes time to write a letter with a well-thought out message.
4. Meet with Your Elected Officials
   A personal meeting with your elected official can be an effective way to persuade that official to support your cause. It is an opportunity for you or your group to sit down face-to-face with a key decision-maker to convey your thoughts on an issue.
   Here are some thoughts on how to set up and have a meeting with your elected official.

Change happens when people contact their lawmakers and raise their concerns about needs not being met.

There are a number of ways that you can step up and take action to improve lives from the bottom up. Some take just a few seconds and some a bit longer. Below are different ways you can advocate for diaper rights.

The most important step in addressing an issue is making sure people understand there IS an issue. Host a diaper drive to raise awareness of diaper needs in your community.

Learn more at: http://thediaperbank.org/index.php/support_TDB/diaperDrive/

Learn more at: http://thediaperbank.org/index.php/start_a_diaper_bank/

• 29 % of infants and toddlers with at least one parent who works full-time, year-round – 2.4 million – live in low-income families.
• 73 % of infants and toddlers with at least one parent who works part-time or part-year – 2.1 million – live in low-income families.
• 88 % of infants and toddlers with no employed parents – 1.4 million – live in low-income families.

A recent survey of mothers found that 4% of mothers have cut back on child care because they could not afford diapers.^[1] The same study found that in families where obtaining sufficient diapers is a struggle, 22% of mothers have stayed home with their child even though they were supposed to be somewhere else because they did not have enough diapers.^[2]