Need for diapers persists, even with new WA cash benefit
YAKIMA – A law providing low-income Washington families with a monthly subsidy to buy diapers has been in effect for six months, but the need for diaper banks and other resources remains high.
That’s especially true in Yakima County, which had a diaper bank until July, when grant funding ended.
Members of the Junior League of Yakima are having a Mother’s Day diaper drive for Triumph’s Parent Child Assistance Program on May 11. They want to fill a three-month supply of diapers – 1,000 boxes – for mothers in the program, which involves intensive home visitation to help mothers with substance use disorders build and maintain healthy, independent and substance-free lives.
According to the National Diaper Bank Network, diaper need is a growing problem. Half of U.S. families can’t afford enough diapers to keep their infant or child clean, dry and healthy, according to a 2023 study commissioned by the network. These babies are more vulnerable to painful rashes and urinary tract infections and have more trips to the doctor.
Three in five parents miss work or school because they can’t afford the diapers required to leave their baby in child care, the national diaper bank says.
Clean diapers are a basic need of every baby and toddler. But as inflation persists, the average monthly supply of diapers costs anywhere from $80 to more than $100, according to 2023 statistics from the national diaper bank.
State diaper assistance
In Washington, the End Diaper Need Act went into effect Nov. 1. Under the law, Washington families with at least one child under age 3 receiving benefits from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or State Family Assistance qualify for a monthly cash payment of $100 per household for diapers and diaper-related products.
Since the benefit began, the number of households receiving the benefit has averaged about 9,600 cases a month. The state has paid out about $5.7 million, said Norah West, a spokesperson with the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Only families receiving TANF or state assistance qualify for the diaper benefit, which is limited to one monthly payment per qualifying household – not per qualifying child – according to information on the DSHS website. State Family Assistance is a cash assistance program for those ineligible for TANF.
A child qualifies until the end of the month in which the child turns 3.
People don’t have to apply. The state determines eligibility based on information submitted for TANF or state assistance. The payment is automatically loaded onto EBT cards at the first of the month, West said.
“There’s nothing that anyone needs to do to apply for it,” she said. “If you receive TANF and you have a child under the age of 3, you automatically qualify for the program. … If you have a baby, when you do your case update and add that child on, that subsidy would also be added on.”
There are roughly 2,059 TANF and SFA cases in Yakima County, which is about 5,000 people, West said, providing numbers from the community services division. That’s about 6% of the 32,000 TANF and SFA cases in Washington, which involve 83,688 people statewide.
The benefit amount is established annually by the department contingent on budget and available funding.
Families have to be eligible for at least $10 in cash assistance a month from TANF or SFA to qualify for diaper assistance, West said. People may apply for cash assistance any time if they don’t receive it and think they might be eligible.
“If you don’t get TANF, you might be eligible for state financial assistance,” she added.
People can apply or get more information by visiting washingtonconnection.org, calling (877) 501-2233 or stopping in to the local DSHS office, specifically the community services division.