Paid leave prevents workers and their families from falling down a financial rabbit hole when breadwinners need time away from their jobs to care for a loved one, a newborn child or to address their own serious health issue. For new moms, infants and toddlers, these programs are vital.
As of January 2025, only 13 states and Washington D.C. have or will soon have statewide paid family and medical leave programs in place. Expanding paid family and medical leave programs nationwide is an important matter of equity and security. This is because just 27% of workers have paid family leave through their jobs absent a state policy, and low-wage workers are 10 times less likely to have access than the highest-paid workers.
“For all too many families, caring for a newborn child means being at risk for falling behind on rent, groceries, gas and other day-to-day essentials,” says Katie Bishop Kendrick, national senior advocacy consultant, National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers. “During these critical months after the birth of a new child, new parents should have the time needed to bond with and properly care for their newborns, and to rest and heal after giving birth.”
A growing body of research shows that paid family and medical leave not only helps individuals and families, but it also benefits communities and is good for business. According to Urban Institute research for the U.S. Department of Labor, these programs are linked to higher workforce retention, are expected to decrease the proportion of workers living in poverty and have been shown to reduce the reliance on other public benefit programs.
While there are concerns that state leave programs will lead to overuse, or unmanageable hits to a state’s workforce, program data shows that only a small share of workers (about 3-7%) use state paid leave programs each year.
Some states use a fixed percentage approach to wage replacement while others follow a sliding-scale. States also fund their programs differently. Advocates say that no matter what model is followed, one thing is clear: comprehensive, universal state paid leave provides financial security to working people at minimal individual cost.
For more information about paid family and medical leave programs, visit ncit.org.
“Paid family and medical leave positions families and babies to thrive,” says Bishop Kendrick. “Federal lawmakers should use comprehensive state programs as examples to design a national program. Doing so will ensure more American families have the resources they need during this foundational period in a child’s life.”
(StatePoint)
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