The U.S. remains one of the world’s few industrialized nations without guaranteed paid family leave. Partisan approaches to enacting paid leave have, so far, had little success in changing this fact.
CPJ’s Families Valued program recently convened a leadership council to examine approaches to paid family leave that reach past traditional categories of right and left.
Representing diverse Christian traditions, denominations and political orientations, council members agreed on the importance of supporting those entrusted with the responsibility to care for those who are vulnerable in our society. Together, they concluded that a common ground approach to paid family leave, rooted in Christian values, should:
- Ensure universal minimum benefits
- Prioritize those who are vulnerable
- Support diverse cultural conceptions of kin
- Operate with administrative simplicity
Policymakers can move toward this vision by establishing a universal benefit for new parents and end-of-life caregivers, and by guaranteeing all workers at least two weeks of annual paid leave for meeting health and caregiving needs.
