- HB547 bill Rep. Rosalba Dominguez proposes creating a Diapering Supplies Fund for families in need in Utah.
- Taxpayers would be able to voluntarily donate to the Diapering Supplies fund through their state income tax returns.
- The money from the fund would go to nonprofits around the state including the Utah Diaper Bank.
Utah taxpayers could soon be able to donate to a Diapering Supplies Fund through a bill that advanced through a House committee on Friday.
HB547 sponsored by Rep. Rosalba Dominguez, D-Salt Lake City, would create the Diapering Supplies Fund, to help provide diapers for families in need. The bill was heard during the House Health and Human Services Committee and will now go to the House floor.
“It’s a need that is growing within our state, and it’s a need that I would love to help families and children to be able to participate in,” Dominguez said.
The money donated to the fund by taxpayers would be available for nonprofits who provide diapering supplies to their communities. The extra money from this fund would help the organizations be able to fulfill the needs of the people they serve.
“Lack of access to diapers is a health problem for our children, because parents may have to leave their children in wet or soiled diapers longer than is healthy, leading to diaper rash infections,” said Mallory Wheat who spoke in favor of the bill during the committee hearing.
Another issue caused by a lack of access to diapers is parents not being able to send their children to daycare because many daycares require parents to provide their own diapers.
What this bill would do?
The creation of the Diapering Supplies Fund under HB547 would allow taxpayers to voluntarily donate money to help provide diapers for those in need on their state income tax returns.
The bill would require the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to award grants from the Diapering Supplies Fund to eligible nonprofits for the purchase of diapers.
The nonprofits would have to have at least five years of experience distributing supplies for toddlers and babies. The grants would fund the purchase of diapers, wipes and other needed diaper supplies for individuals in need.
If the bill passes, people would be able to donate to the fund when they file their taxes starting next year.
The Utah Diaper Bank
One of the nonprofit organizations that would benefit from the funding provided by this bill is the Utah Diaper Bank.
Victor Velivis founded the Utah Diaper Bank in 2012 after he realized there was no government safety-net program for providing diapers for families in need and that Utah didn’t have a diaper bank.
In the first year the diaper bank provided 11,000 diapers and last year they provided 1.9 million diapers. There is still a need for more diapers as most organizations the diaper bank distributes to each month run out of diapers about halfway through the month.
Velivis has worked with the Dominguez as she has workshopped the bill.
“She became aware of what we’re doing, and she wanted to help,” Velivis said about the bill’s sponsor.
The diaper bank distributes to 40 nonprofit and government agencies monthly, and to others once a year. Once a quarter they partner with the Utah Food Bank to send diapers to another 19 cities.
Velivis said he hopes this bill and the fund it would create can help people be more aware of the need for diapers in Utah.
“But there’s still a lot of people that aren’t aware that low income families are not getting assistance with diapers,” Velivis said. “It’ll get the problem out in front of people, so they understand that there are people in need out there, that babies aren’t getting diapers.”
He added that the diaper bank uses the tagline “Every baby deserves a clean diaper.”