Paid Leave and Childcare Policies are the Key to Our Recovery

Watching my 10-year-old daughter, and thinking about the millions of children nationwide whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic, underscores for me the need for childcare activists, parents and guardians alike to make our voices heard on behalf of our children. We must ensure that our children are a focus not just through the election, but consistently. 

We are in uncharted territory, and our children’s mental and physical health are being impacted by this unprecedented time. Just as families worry, our children also worry about not knowing where they will learn in the fall, or when they can go out and play again.  Some families have the additional stress of not knowing whether they will be able return to work or put food on the table due to the lack of national paid leave and childcare policies.  

We know that 4.5 million childcare slots are at risk of disappearing and up to 106 million workers have been left without any guaranteed paid leave to deal with this virus. 

My daughter and so many others have benefited from amazing and loving child care providers. But sometimes kids need a parent’s care – when they first come into our lives, when they are ill or injured. And sometimes we ourselves need time to heal or care for a parent or other loved one. That means passing a comprehensive, national paid leave program now, to give greater economic certainty to families as we work to make it through this pandemic and beyond.

• The plan must be universal, covering all workers no matter who they are, where they live or where they work, or who they love.
• It must be affordable, with those who earn the least getting all or most of their wage.
• AND It needs to be inclusive, so we can all care for our loved ones, however we define our families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare an undeniable truth: What many considered the “normal” economy wasn’t working for most people. The appalling blow to communities of color and disregard for essential workers reflect policies and practices that have existed since our nation’s founding. 

The lack of focus on these policy issues is embedded into our society’s systemic racist and sexist origins interwoven into the fabric of our country; a fabric built on undervaluing the labor of women and people of color. This resulted in the systemic underinvestment in educational funding, and the lack of universal child care or paid leave that makes it impossible for many families to provide for their kids and care for them. 

As state and federal leaders debate the right way to “reopen the economy,” I stand with my colleagues nationwide in calling on our leaders to instead open the door to a new economy founded on an infrastructure of caring, equity, and respect. We need to rebuild our childcare infrastructure to ensure the safety and security of our children, and to pass a robust paid family leave policy. 

Childcare and paid leave are racial justice issues. They are gender justice issues. Both good childcare policy and inclusive paid leave are a win not just for workers and families, but for the economy and businesses. We cannot rebuild the economy without these linked policy changes. Investing in caregiving is a collective responsibility and is fundamental to our shared values of family and community.

By Sade Moonsammy, Family Values @ Work’s chief of staff.