Introduction
To help address diaper need and increase economic security for families, the Office of Community Services (OCS) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in partnership with the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, launched the Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot (Diaper Distribution Pilot) in September 2022. This pilot provides grants to expand diaper distribution programs using networks of community partners. In addition to providing diapers and diapering supplies, such as ointment and wipes, these programs offer to connect families to wraparound services, such as job training, educational support, and Head Start. Any organization receiving Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding from OCS was eligible to apply for a Diaper Distribution Pilot grant.
As of July 2025, OCS had funded 28 Diaper Distribution Pilot grant recipients across four cohorts. Twenty-four grant recipients are CSBG state Community Action Agency (CAA) associations or partnerships, and four of the grant recipients are CSBG Tribal organizations. Grant recipients typically partner with subrecipients, such as local CAAs, diaper banks, food banks, and other community-based organizations, to carry out their diaper distribution efforts. Grant recipients and their subrecipients work together to buy diapers and diapering supplies, distribute these supplies to families, and connect families to additional services. ACF separately contracted with Westat to conduct the Diaper Distribution Pilot evaluation. Westat and its partners, Public Profit and Dr. Jennifer Randles, are evaluating the program to document how grants serve families, examine the experiences and outcomes of the families served, and develop a rigorous impact study design.
Purpose
This brief describes early findings on how grant recipients and subrecipients from the first two cohorts of the Diaper Distribution Pilot obtain diapers and diapering supplies. It can be used by organizations designing diaper distribution programs to guide planning and decision making.
Key Findings and Highlights
The evaluation team identified several key highlights and takeaways, including:
- There was no one-size-fits-all approach to diaper procurement. Grant recipients and subrecipients had to weigh many different factors in choosing how to procure diapers for distribution. Grant recipients and subrecipients used wholesale vendors, retailers, or some combination of both. Wholesale vendors offered a lower cost per diaper but required bulk purchases. Retailers offered more brand variety and flexible amounts but were often more costly. The trade-offs for these different diaper procurement approaches were complex and had many implications for diaper quantity, quality, pricing, and delivery convenience.
- Grant recipients structured their programs based on existing strengths. Some used a centralized approach where one organization, such as a diaper bank, purchased diapers for all organizations involved in the grant. Others allowed subrecipients to each use their own procurement methods.
- Staff accounted for many variables when deciding how much to purchase. Grant recipients and subrecipients used “diaper math,” accounting for the number of children in the program, the number of diapers they gave to each family at each distribution, the diaper sizes offered, the number of diapers in each package, and whether to offer other diapering supplies, such as wipes or ointment. For grant recipients and subrecipients new to distributing diapers, there were learning curves involved in doing this math.
- Subrecipients received diaper shipments either directly to their sites or picked up diapers from a diaper bank, a retailer, or another location acting as a delivery “hub”. Receiving diaper shipments requires considerable infrastructure (e.g., loading dock, pallet jack). Subrecipients who did not have this infrastructure came up with creative solutions, including unloading shipments themselves, sometimes with the help of volunteers. Others picked up diapers themselves from central locations, sometimes in their personal vehicles.
- Diaper storage required careful planning and creativity. Grant recipients and subrecipients needed to consider having enough space to store and repackage diaper orders. Subrecipients with limited on-site space for storing diapers and diapering supplies found other solutions, such as renting or purchasing portable outdoor storage units, borrowing space in an existing warehouse, or renting an off-site storage unit.
Methods
The evaluation team conducted site visits with the first and second cohorts (14 grant recipients total) of the Diaper Distribution Pilot in 2024. These site visits involved interviews with grant recipient and subrecipient staff, focus groups with participating families, and observations of diaper distribution-related activities. The evaluation team used interview and observational data to produce the information presented in this brief.
Citation
Al-Abdulmunem, M., Evans, M., Giordano, S., & Wroblewska, K. (2025). Buying diapers in bulk: Early findings and recommendations from the diaper distribution pilots. OPRE Report 2025-080. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.