What We Do

Legislative Objectives:

• Family Caregiving, including expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide income replacement and to cover a broader range of employers and more diverse families, the provision of pay equity and proportional benefits for reduced hours employees, and of health insurance for unpaid care providers.
• Care Supports for those in need of care, including expansion of early childhood education initiatives, federal subsidies or tax supports for the care of children, the elderly, and people with disabilities of any age, and initiatives to improve the quality of private and public care.
• Caregiving Workforce, including the provision of living wages, reasonable hours, and adequate benefits for employees and contractors providing care for children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Legislation on these issues will help to create a seamless web of care for children, elders and others in need of care, while protecting and allowing parents and others providing paid or unpaid care to better balance employment and life commitments.

Primary functions:

• Educate policy makers, the public, and the media about these issues by issuing reports, fact sheets, and website materials.
• Link academic experts and practitioners with policy makers and the media to provide needed technical guidance on these issues.
• Mobilize individuals throughout the country to focus Federal and State representatives on relevant legislation and other policies to support these objectives.

Specific tasks:

• Develop a list of organizations, academic scholars, public policy experts, and practitioners working on these issues, and a database providing information, summaries, and links to relevant resources.
• Develop a media contact list for those who focus on these issues.
• Develop a database with information on Federal and State legislators, and candidates for these offices, regarding their involvement with initiatives in this area.
• Provide regular updates to these contact groups on new research, policy statements from candidates for office, and legislative initiatives.
• Respond to information requests from those on the contact list, as well as from general members of the public, media, and Federal and State legislatures.
• Pass along to our membership requests from campaigns for national office interested in work and family issues.