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Company Name
JFS Diaper Distribution in Portland
Existing safety-net programs (such as SNAP and WIC) do not support the purchase of diapers, and diaper need is a growing challenge throughout the country. In 2016, recognizing the severity of the issue locally, KJFS joined the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), becoming the first and largest diaper bank in Southern Maine. For many years, we partnered with up to 14 agencies to distribute diapers around Cumberland and York counties. Today, our volunteers help to provide diapers every other month to over 400 clients, in partnership with Maine Health. Our current distribution strategy engages volunteers to deliver diapers directly to the homes of half our client list, while the other half is able to pick up at the JCA on a series of pre-determined dates throughout the month.
While we are not able to serve every family who reaches out to us, we do our best to offer this service to those who need it most. Referrals may be provided via email to kjfs@mainejewish.org. Because this program is made possible through our incredible volunteers, we are always looking to add more people to help with distribution! If you are interested in being a part of this project, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Adam Seigal, at aseigal@mainejewish.org.
The Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot (DDRP ) Program
Over the past 7 years, we have seen a dramatic rise in diaper need, as the demand for our program tripled in 2020. Understanding that our small agency was not capable of addressing the magnitude of this issue independently, we have participated in conversations with elected officials and NDBN staffers to support additional Federal investments in diaper banking. In late 2023, KJFS was brought in as a subgrantee for a major federal grant, the “Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot” in the state of Maine.
Our role is to leverage the agency’s history and experience with diaper banking to provide training and support and to facilitate the procurement and distribution logistics for this grant. The DDDRP project is focused on families in up to eight (8) Maine counties and Tribal areas, including but not limited to the reservations, who are identified as having high need.
This pilot program supports households with diapers and diapering supplies, as well as provide access to wrap-around services to alleviate economic hardship. Our goal for this pilot is to build and strengthen diaper distribution opportunities in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Oxford, Waldo, Washington and York counties with our partners in some of Maine’s most rural, diverse and economically challenged regions. The community-based partner organizations and community action agencies in these counties, are providing navigation support to existing wrap-around services enhanced by adding consistent distribution of diapers and diapering supplies to the support framework.
The data generated through this pilot will allow us and DHHS to learn more about current diaper distribution practices, with the intent of developing best practices through assessment, evaluation and data collection with the goal of creating a framework for replication that can be implemented throughout all of Maine. DDDRP uses the evidence-based approach of embedding diapers and diapering supplies into wrap around services. The Community Action Partner (CAP) agencies and other community-based organizations currently run a variety of programs which serve families that need diapers (Whole Family/2Gen, Early Head Start, Home Visitation, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Parents as Teachers). These programs also use evidence-based practices to support parents with young children who are working toward self-sufficiency.
Our goal is to support parents with young children who are facing economic hardship and are working toward self-sufficiency. To be eligible to participate in DDRP, families must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. As part of the pilot project, six community organizations are each providing 100 children with 125 diapers per month.
Support services are paired with the purchasing power, established supply chain, and logistics coordination skills that KJFS has established through involvement in NDBN. This will result in better outcomes for families that are under the double stress of navigating tough economic circumstances and raising young children. The average household in Maine spends $11,700 of their income on infant care alone, not accounting for diapers, diapering supplies, children’s clothing, medicine, food, and other essentials. With a minimum wage of $13.80 in 2023, a single full-time worker may spend up to 40% of their total income on their infant before diapers. We believe that alleviating roughly $80 in monthly expenses for diapers and diapering supplies per child will make a substantial difference in their family’s spending power on other essential needs, ensure parents/guardians can stay at work, and alleviate both physical and psychological health stressors for the family. Equity is prioritized in this project by not making it “one-size fits all,” but rather taking advantage of the diversity of home visitation and other family-facing programs available throughout our partner agencies.
The diapers/diapering supplies delivery as well as the wrap-around services will be based on the individual needs of our participating families. By targeting enrollment in a variety of home visitation programs, we are focusing on Maine families that have historically been marginalized by poverty, disability, geographic location, substance misuse, and other external factors. We hope that this project will lead to further investment and expansion of diaper resources across the state of Maine.
For more information about the DDRP Program or how you can help, please contact Margaret Mailender, mmailender@mainejewish.org