In the Lead
Not Just 9 to 5: Expanding Child Care Options for Parents Working Nontraditional Hours
In the United States, a whopping 43 percent of children have a parent who works “nontraditional hours,” or during the early mornings, nights, or weekends. And yet just 8 percent of child care centers offer care before 7am or after 6pm. While families of all types require care during nontraditional hours, Black and Latinx workers and low-income workers are disproportionately more likely to work during nontraditional hours.
It’s Time to Reframe Care as a Public Good
In March, academics, researchers, and advocates came together to discuss the future of the U.S. care infrastructure at a conference presented by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, American University's Program on Gender Analysis in Economics, and the Carework Network. Taking stock of the caregiving landscape in the age of COVID-19, panelists focused on the impact of the pandemic, the current policy environment, shifting narratives around care, and the urgent changes needed to create a care system that works for women and families.
Care Workers Join Older Adult and Disability Advocates to Call for Vital Reforms
Last week, disability rights advocates were joined by caregiving professionals and policymakers at a rally in Washington, DC, to call for much-needed investment in the care infrastructure. Rally participants delivered the call to invest in care—with a focus on home and community-based services and living wages for direct care workers—at an important moment, as Congress continues to debate legislature that would provide critical funding like the Build Back Better Act and its reincarnations.
Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed
“College campuses were not designed with student parents in mind.” This is now a common refrain echoed among student parent success advocates. It must be acknowledged, too, that the U.S. system of higher education was not designed for women, Black people, anyone parenting while in college, or those who experience life at the intersections of all three of these identities.
The Future of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: Holding on to Hope
Expanding the Child Tax Credit was a historic policy moment and a hopeful national experiment on how recurring payments to families with children can impact economic security. How might we build on this to secure a brighter future for women and families?
A Historic Expansion in Paid Family and Medical Leave in the Nation’s Capital
This month, DC’s Paid Family Leave Program was approved to expand in a powerful way, thanks to a law that Councilmember Elissa Silverman successfully entered into the 2022 Budget. The expansion, which will go into effect beginning July 1, 2022, will increase paid leave for private sector workers from 8 to 12 weeks for parental leave, and from 6 to 12 weeks for family caregiving leave and medical leave. Employers will also see a reduced payroll tax rate after the policy’s reevaluation by the City’s Chief Financial Officer.
