This resolution expresses support for designating a week to raise awareness about the critical issue of diaper need affecting families nationwide and recognizes the efforts of local diaper banks.
Rosa DeLauro
Representative
CT-3
This resolution officially recognizes the significant challenge of "diaper need" affecting families nationwide and expresses support for designating September 15–21, 2025, as National Diaper Need Awareness Week. It highlights how a lack of diapers impacts infant health, childcare access, and parental employment. The bill encourages public support and donations to the hundreds of local diaper banks working to provide this essential resource to struggling families.
Congress Backs 'National Diaper Need Awareness Week' to Highlight Cost Crisis for Families
This resolution is all about officially recognizing a tough reality for millions of families: the inability to consistently afford enough clean diapers for their infants and toddlers. This problem, which policy folks call "diaper need," might sound simple, but the resolution spells out how it creates a domino effect of problems—from health issues for babies to economic instability for parents.
The core of the resolution is its support for designating the week of September 15 to September 21, 2025, as "National Diaper Need Awareness Week." This isn't a new law that mandates spending or creates a program; it's Congress using its platform to shine a spotlight on a basic necessity that can cost a family upwards of $100 per month. For a family already juggling rising rent and grocery bills, that expense can be the breaking point.
The Health and Work Impact of Diaper Insecurity
The most compelling part of this resolution is how it connects the lack of diapers to big-picture issues. First, there’s the health angle: when babies are left in soiled diapers for too long because parents are trying to stretch their supply, it significantly increases the risk of painful rashes, infections, and even hospital visits. This turns a simple budget problem into a public health concern that strains family finances even further.
Second, it’s a major employment barrier. As the resolution highlights, most licensed childcare facilities require parents to provide a daily supply of disposable diapers. If a parent can’t drop off the required diapers, the child can’t attend daycare. The resolution cites data showing that parents facing diaper need miss an average of 5.1 days of work per month. Imagine losing a week’s worth of pay every month just because you can’t afford a box of Pampers. That missed income makes it even harder to buy the next box, creating a vicious cycle of poverty and instability.
A Shout-Out to Community Heroes
Since this resolution doesn't create a new government program, it instead focuses on supporting the existing infrastructure. It takes a moment to acknowledge the hundreds of local diaper banks across the country—groups that run entirely on donations and volunteer power. These banks, often partnering with food pantries and local social services, are the ones doing the heavy lifting, distributing diapers directly to families in need.
By officially recognizing the problem and supporting the "Diaper Need Awareness Week," the resolution aims to encourage community action. It explicitly calls on citizens to donate generously to these local diaper banks and drives. While this is a non-binding resolution—meaning it doesn't force anyone to do anything—it serves as a powerful endorsement of the work being done on the ground and a clear signal that this is an issue worth the public’s attention and charitable dollars.