With historic demographic shifts in Congress this year, there is even more momentum to address broken policies that can improve the lives of families across our nation. The Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community(Family Prosperity) is bringing policy, practice, philanthropy, research, and private sector leaders together to capitalize on the energy and opportunities materializing at the local, state, and national levels to improve family-supportive policies.

Family Prosperity is discussing how family-supportive policies like paid family and medical leave and child care help working families thrive. And it was a conversation heard across the nation: California Governor Gavin Newsom and state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson announced a new bill that, if passed, would be the boldest state paid leave policy in the country, mandating up to six months of paid leave for people who work to bond with a newborn or care for a sick family member. The policy is bold in part because several members of Family Prosperity had a hand in shaping it, including California-based Legal Aid at Work and the National Partnership for Women and Families. Connecticut and New Hampshire also are considering state paid leave proposals that give people who work the time they need to care for their families. 

Bold ideas, possibilities, and potential are visible on Capitol Hill, as well: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut have reintroduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would provide Americans up to 12 weeks of paid leave at 66 percent of their monthly wages. Federal paid leave has support in the White House as well. During his State of the Union Address, President Trump said he was proud to include in his budget “a plan for nationwide paid family leave, so that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child.” 

[For more on this story by Anne Mosle, go to https://ascend.aspeninstitute....or-families-in-2019/]