Changing Restrooms: New Law Mandates Baby-Changing Stations

President Obama recently signed into law the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation Act, or the BABIES Act. This legislation requires that both men’s and women’s restrooms in publicly accessible federal buildings contain baby changing tables.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) first introduced the bill back in April, and it received bipartisan support in Congress.

“Government needs to do more to ensure that public buildings are family-friendly. No mom or dad should ever have to worry about finding a safe, sanitary place to change their baby ― least of all in a federal building that’s paid for by taxpayers,” Cicilline says. “The BABIES Act is a commonsense proposal that makes government buildings more welcoming for families and helps promote good public health,” he added.

The law defines a baby changing facility as “a table or other device suitable for changing the diaper of a child age 3 or under” and mandates that these facilities be “physically safe, sanitary, and appropriate.”

The BABIES Act comes after some much-publicized advocacy from celebrities, politicians and bloggers.

Read more here.

This Quick Read was submitted by Dan Hounsell, editor-in-chief of Facility Maintenance Decisions, dan.hounsell@tradepressmedia.com. To read more about setting priorities for restroom upgrades, visit https://www.facilitiesnet.com/16451FMD.

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