Paid leave

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Paid leave

Paid leave policies allow employees to take time off work and still receive at least a portion of their regular pay. Paid leave can be used for various reasons, but is most commonly used for illness or for recovering from childbirth and bonding with a new child. Paid leave policies help sick parents and new families continue to access critical household resources that can catalyze positive outcomes.

Featured Resources

2023 Roadmap Profile: Paid Family Leave

Paid family leave programs providing a minimum of 6 weeks increase access to paid time off from work, reduce racial disparities in leave-taking, boost mothers’ labor force participation, improve maternal mental health, and foster better child-parent relationships and child health.

Research Brief: A Business Case for Paid Leave Policies

This brief outlines the impact of paid family and medical leave (PFML) policies on the labor force and businesses, as well as steps states are taking in policy design to address employer concerns.

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Pennsylvania Paid Family Leave Program Proposed in H.B.181

In 2023, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced H.B. 181 to create a new paid family and medical leave program, providing leave of up to 20 weeks.

Related Resources

2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights

With most legislatures adjourned for the year, we recap the 2024 action on state policies to support children and families. So far this year, lawmakers throughout the country debated—and many passed—legislation that aligns with four key components of the prenatal-to-3 system of care.

June Update: Prenatal-to-3 State Legislative Trends

Though most legislative sessions have adjourned, lawmakers and advocates across the country continue to advance efforts to support children and families. A lot can happen at the tail end of a legislative session, as Colorado

State Policies to Promote Equity in Healthy Perinatal Outcomes: A Summary of the Evidence

Barriers to health care, high-quality health insurance, and parental leave work together to leave families and children vulnerable during the perinatal period. These barriers can shape life-long outcomes, particularly for children from historically marginalized groups.

State Policy Solutions to Reduce Child Maltreatment: A Summary of the Evidence

Did you know state policies play an important role in reducing child maltreatment? Rapid neurological development makes children especially susceptible to harmful stressors, such as maltreatment, during the prenatal-to-3 period. Though we may expect prevention

Paid Family & Medical Leave: A Summary of the Evidence for Benefits to Children, Families, and the Labor Force

Rigorous research finds that statewide paid family and medical leave (PFML) policies have broad beneficial impacts to children, parents and families, and the labor force. This brief provides examples of the impacts of state PFML

A Business Case for Paid Leave Policies

Nearly all workers have needed or will need time away from work. When life and family responsibilities necessitate time off, paid family and medical leave (PFML) policies serve as an important tool to support both

Paid Leave