Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee Champions Alameda County Diaper Drive and Early Childhood Learning

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee announced a new campaign to distribute free diapers and wipes to families struggling to afford these essential products on Monday — while raising awareness about early childhood development.

Pink and blue balloons transformed Oakland City Hall into a baby shower on Monday to announce the diaper drive, made possible through a public-private partnership. The products were labeled with the message “Diaper Time Is Talk Time,” to encourage parents and caregivers to make meaningful connections with infants and toddlers even during a simple routine like a diaper change.

“Diaper time is not just diaper time. It’s connection time, and connection time is brain-building time,” Lee said.

The diapers are being distributed throughout Alameda County and other parts of the state to address diaper insecurity — an issue Lee championed when she served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lower-income families cannot use federal aid to pay for diapers, which cost more than $100 each month per child. Parents and caregivers often reuse diapers or resort to using maxi pads or cloths to keep babies clean and dry.

Citing state public health data, Lee said diaper insecurity is linked to about 40,000 hospital visits each year to treat diaper rashes or urinary tract infections.

“Most of those visits are covered by Medi-Cal, so we’re paying for diaper needs but in the most painful, harmful and expensive and insufficient way possible,” Lee said. “This is a public health issue. It’s an economic issue and an equity issue. And I know that we can do better.”

In Congress, Lee proposed eliminating sales tax on diapers and bolstering diaper banks that distribute free products to families in need.

Her advocacy led the leader of SupplyBank.org, an Oakland-based nonprofit, to use its bulk purchasing power to buy massive amounts of diapers at reduced prices and distribute them to community organizations that serve families.

Last year, Alameda County launched a nearly $6 million program to pass out diapers and wipes to health clinics, family resource centers, food-aid offices for women and children and other community-based organizations that serve families over a three-year period.

The diapers and wipes initially had no branding. But under a partnership with Too Small to Fail, an early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, the products now feature a smiling teddy bear, nudging parents and caregivers to talk or sing to little ones during diaper changes.

Benito Delgado-Olson, executive director of SupplyBank.org, said the new diaper designs not only offer “smart and gentle” prompts for parents and caregivers to engage with babies, they also signal to organizations distributing the diapers that the products are “just as good as something that you or I would buy in the store.”

Almost 60% of children in the United States start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in critical language and reading skills, the Clinton Foundation reports. Engaging in language-rich interactions can improve brain development during the first three years of childhood.

“These seemingly small interactions add up in big ways to strengthen bonds and support healthy development,” said Perri Chinalai, a managing director of the Too Small to Fail initiative. “And we also know that many kids aren’t getting the support they need to learn, grow and thrive. Gaps in opportunities emerge early, and if not addressed, these disparities often widen over time.”

Delgado-Olson said his organization also distributes diapers to community organizations in Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, as well as Merced, Kern and several rural counties across the state. He said Supply Bank and Too Small to Fail are building a website for community organizations to purchase diapers at cost to distribute to the families they serve.

Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the public-private partnership in Alameda County as a model for other parts of the state, particularly at a time when the Trump administration threatens to cut federal funds for child care and other social services for families with young children.

“Filling gaps like this is critical,” Bonta said Monday. “It makes life just a bit more manageable and more affordable for hardworking families.”