What Children Need from Their Parents Employers

1
What Children Need fromTheir Parents Employers

• Challenges and Opportunities

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Barriers - Inflexibility

• If the kids are sick and sent home from school,
  theres no place for them to go. The school
  called and said I had to get my 5-year old
  daughter. I was fired.
• -DeNice, rural county outside Eau Claire

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Barriers - Inflexibility

• I had 4 jobs - I drove a school bus, delivered
  newspapers, worked with the Girl Scouts, and sold
  Tupperware. None of the jobs had benefits.
• I had to make hard choices about supporting my
  kids instead of spending time with them.
• - Julia, Milwaukee

4
Impact on Parents and Kids

• Work cant pay if it doesnt last and it cant
  last if it jeopardizes kids.
• Cost of starting over.

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Impact on Children

• Kids go to school sick.
• Kids send themselves to school sick.
• Health and learning problems become disabilities.

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Background 1940-1960s

• Temporary Disability Insurance funds introduced
  in 5 states Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York,
  California, Hawaii
• Pregnancy not included
• NJ lumped with injuries that were willfully
  self-inflicted or incurred during the
  perpetration of a high misdemeanor.

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Background 1976

• Supreme Court says pregnancy has nothing to do
  with sex not covered by Title VII.

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Background 1978

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• cant fire women for being pregnant but you
  dont have to hold their jobs.
• pregnancy like other temporary disabilities but
  most women work for firms with no short-term
  disability plans.

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Background 1993

• 12 weeks leave to care for for new child,
  seriously ill child, spouse or elderly parent, or
  personal illness
• Includes job guarantee and health insurance
• Broader than maternity and includes men.

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Problems with FMLA
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Background Sick Days

• Half the workforce and ¾ of low-wage workers -
  have no paid sick days.
• Many who do cant use them to care for sick
  family members.

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Background 1996

• Welfare as we know it is ended -- by those
  whove never known it.
• TANF is modeled on conditions of low-wage women.
• Cut rolls, not poverty

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Whats at Stake for Low-Wage Workers

• High cost of being poor
• Ability to keep a job, build assets
• Well-being of children and families

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Whats at Stake for Women

• Low-income women average much less pay than male
  counterparts, partly because of job loss due to
  family care.
• This is one reason the U.S. has the highest
  child-poverty rate in the industrialized world.

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Multi-State Working Families Consortium

• Eight state coalitions California, Georgia,
  Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey,
  Washington and Wisconsin
• Collaborating for more effective action, raise
  public awareness.

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Where We Are Now Opportunities

• Reframe the Debate
• Values caring, responsibility, opportunity
• Whos really for families
• Modernizing outdated systems
• Put kids in the center rather than the fringes.

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Public Policy Changes

• Family Flexibility
• Make leave more accessible
• Make leave more affordable
• Guarantee paid sick days
• Keep consideration for chronic conditions

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Opportunities

• Build capacity in state work
• Encourage voluntary action.
• Make progress on guaranteeing protection
• Sick days
• Family Care
• FMLA for school activities

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Opportunities

• Make progress in states
• forms of paid leave
• expand TDI to include family leave
• create new form of social insurance
• Expand UI to include part-timers, family
  hardship.

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Opportunities

• . Increase effectiveness of collaboration among
  states
• Identify and share research.
• Share materials.
• Share strategies
• Common templates.
• Common campaigns.
• Joint media campaign
• Collaboration of state legislators.
• Rapid Response team.

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Where We Are Now Opportunities

• Increase collaboration - connect the dots
• Labor . Women . Seniors .
  Progressive employers . Family physicians .
  Faith-based . Disabilities groups .
  Chronic disease . Alzheimers Associations .
  AIDS groups . Mental health organizations
  . PTAs . Principals . School boards
  . Social workers . Cities/counties groups
  . Citizen Action . Welfare
  rights/anti-poverty groups . Childrens
  groups . Foster children . Work-family
  researchers . Legal groups . Parents of
  adult disabled . Adoption groups .
  Immigrant advocates . Groups in communities
  of color . Human Rights groups .
  Non-profit associations . Insurers .
  Womens business associations . AAUW . YWCA
  . Planned Parenthood .

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Where We Are Now Opportunities

• Lay the groundwork for policy change.
• Redefine issues link what happens to kids at
  home and school with what happens to parents at
  work.