New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program marks a major advance for the state’s workforce. New Jersey is one of only three states (California and Rhode Island are the others) that, in the absence of a federal paid family leave program, implemented its own program. Nevertheless, program take up is low and research on its impact is limited. To find out why, and to determine how well FLI works for those who do use it, NCCP launched the New Jersey Parenting Project to hear directly from low-income working parents of young children in Newark, Camden, and Trenton. Through a yearlong slate of focus groups and interviews, parents offered their perspectives on the program, how well the program worked for them, and ways it might be strengthened and reach even more working parents.
The NCCP policy brief, Protecting Workers, Nurturing Families: Building an Inclusive Family Leave Insurance Program, presents findings and recommendations from the first in-depth look at the experiences of low-income workers with New Jersey’s paid family leave policy. New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program, introduced in 2009, gives workers six weeks of paid time off per year to bond with a new child or care for a sick family member. The program is funded through an employee payroll tax and benefits are paid at two-thirds of the worker’s average wage, up to a maximum weekly benefit of $615 in 2016.
Informed by the lived experiences of working parents, the brief recommends action by policymakers, employers, community-based organizations, and others to make New Jersey’s landmark Family Leave Insurance program work better for the state’s low-income parents.
Funded by the Schumann Fund for New Jersey, the Nicholson Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Research on Paid Family Leave
Project Publications
Project Partners
Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ)
ACNJ’s mission is to identify children’s needs through research, policy and legal analysis, and strategic communications. They raise awareness of those needs and work with elected officials and other decision-makers to enact effective responses. Their goal is to help all children grow up safe, healthy, and educated, so they can become productive adults contributing to New Jersey’s communities, making the state a better place to live. ACNJ advised NCCP on project research design and data collection instruments, shared their resources to assist in participant recruiting, commented on the preliminary findings, and helped disseminate findings to stakeholders.
Center for Women and Work (CWW) at Rutgers University
As part of Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations, CWW’s multifaceted research and policy work addresses women’s advancement in the workplace, engaging on issues that directly affect the living standards of New Jersey’s and the nation’s working families. They conduct cutting-edge research on public and workplace policies and provide technical assistance to and programs for educators, industry, and governments. CWW provided critical support in study and instrument design, review of project findings and publications, dissemination of findings.
Community Service Society (CSS)
CSS advances pragmatic, practical solutions that strengthen and benefit New York and create opportunity and prosperity for all its citizens. They address the root causes of economic disparity through research, advocacy, litigation, and innovative program models that strengthen and benefit all New Yorkers. CSS provided critical support in study and instrument design, review of project findings and publications, dissemination of findings.
New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA)
NJCA’s goals are to promote economic and social justice and build a strong progressive coalition working on issues of common concern. Their education and advocacy work focus on community, senior, consumer, labor, and other constituencies that are affected by pocketbook issues. NJCA advised NCCP on project research design, shared their resources to assist in participant recruiting, commented on the preliminary findings, and helped disseminate findings to stakeholders.
New Jersey Time to Care Coalition
The New Jersey Time to Care Coalition supports initiatives that make sure working families have paid time to care.
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN)
SPAN’s mission is to empower families as advocates and partners in improving education and health outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth. We offer families and professionals information, resources, support and advocacy assistance addressing a host of issues that affect families in their every days lives. SPAN advised NCCP on project research design and data collection instruments, shared their resources to assist in participant recruiting, commented on the preliminary findings, and helped disseminate findings to stakeholders.
Advocacy and Research Organizations
Work and Family Balance
National Partnership for Women and Families
The National Partnership for Women and Families works to promote fairness in the workplace, reproductive health and rights, access to quality affordable health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.
Labor Project for Working Families
The Labor Project for Working Families is a collection of community organizations, neighborhood activists, and labor unions, working to build a society that works for all of us, with a major focus on issues that affect working- and middle-class families, such as jobs, taxes, schools, public transportation, affordable housing, and healthcare.
Family Values @ Work is a national network of 16 state and local coalitions working to promote family-friendly workplace policies such as paid sick days and family leave insurance.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialog, and strengthen families, communities, and societies.
The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action.
A Better Balance works to promote equality and expand choices for men and women at all income levels, employing a range of legal strategies to promote flexible workplace policies, end discrimination against caregivers and value the work of caring for families.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
CEPR analyzes how families balance work and care, and how public policies affect family well-being.
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Promoting policy solutions that improve job quality is an essential part of CLASP’s agenda to reduce poverty, support families, reward effort and expand opportunity. CLASP’s advocacy on work/life and job quality concentrates on paid leave, predictable and responsive schedules, and advancement opportunities.
The New Jersey Time to Care Coalition supports initiatives that make sure working families have paid time to care.
Early Childhood Education and Development
Zero To Three is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.
Winning Beginning NY
Winning Beginning NY is a statewide coalition working to inform policy makers and the public about the many benefits of early care and learning including home visiting, child care and Pre-K.
MomsRising is an online and on-the-ground multicultural organization of more than million members and over a hundred aligned organizations working to increase family economic security, to end discrimination against women and mothers, and to build a nation where both businesses and families can thrive.
For Our Babies is a national movement promoting healthy development in U.S. children from conception to age 3, advocating for the types of environments, experiences, and relationships that infants and toddlers need in order to thrive.
Public Health
American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 pediatricians committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, et. al. (2016). Poverty and Child Health in the United States.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, et. al. (2011). Caring for our children: National health and safety performance standards; guidelines for early care and education programs.
American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association aims to protect all Americans, their families and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States.
- Policy Statement: Support for Paid Sick Leave and Family Leave Policies (2013).
- Policy Statement: Expanded Family and Medical Leave (2000).
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General
The Surgeon General of the United States is the nation’s leading spokesman on matters of public health.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). The Surgeon General’s call to action to support breastfeeding [PDF].
Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is a worldwide organization of physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding and human lactation.
Public Health Association of New York City
The Public Health Association of New York City is an active organization of public health professionals committed to improving public health.
New York Statewide Breastfeeding Coalition
The New York Statewide Breastfeeding Coalition is an advocacy, not for profit organization focusing on issues that affect breastfeeding.
Contact
For more information about the New Jersey Parenting Project, please contact:
Heather Koball, PhD
National Center for Children in Poverty
215 West 125th Street, 3rd floor
New York, NY 10027
(646) 284-9636
koball@nccp.org