Diaper Distribution Pilot Program and Report

In 2023, MASSCAP was awarded $1.2 million in funding from the Office of Community Services (OCS), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services (HHS), to implement the Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot Program, also known as the Diaper Distribution Pilot. In 2025, MASSCAP extended the program another year with an additional $600,000 in HHS funding.

Throughout the pilot, MASSCAP expanded existing diaper distribution services with a robust network of community partners, including CAAs and diaper banks, effectively distributing more than 3.5 million diapers throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut in the first two years of the program. MASSCAP managed a “hub and spoke” model, in which one agency in each region acted as the diaper depot and distribution point for other organizations in the area. CAAs were well-positioned to offer these services and integrated this resource seamlessly into other programs, such as Head Start programs, food pantries, WIC offices, and family shelters.

In 2023, MASSCAP contracted with Children’s HealthWatch, a nonpartisan network of pediatricians,public health researchers, and children’s health and policy experts committed to achieving health equity for young children and their families by advancing research to transform policy, to evaluate the impact of the Diaper Distribution Pilot, which then culminated in a comprehensive report on these findings.

In September 2025, MASSCAP and its partner Children’s HealthWatch, released the joint report Changing Diapers, Changing Lives – The Health and Economic Impacts of Diaper Benefits: Key Findings, Conclusion, and Policy Recommendations from a MASSCAP Diaper Distribution Pilot.

Download the Diaper Pilot Report >

Diaper Program Report Cover: Changing Diapers, Changing Lives, Sept 2025