Politics & Policy

Childcare & Early Education Families & The Federal Budget Politics & Policy

October 14, 2016

Whether children will have a strong foundation is in large part determined by the social and physical environments in which they grow up. The first five years of a child’s life are the time of greatest brain development. If young children’s basic needs are met by experiencing consistent, nurturing interactions with loving adults, they are far more likely to meet their full potential. The United States has not made the necessary investments to support young children and families after the seismic shift from stay-at-home moms and two parent families to the current reality of two-parent-working families, or often single working moms with young children today. The major advances in what we now know about early childhood brain development make these investments more urgent. Our aging early childhood infrastructure is in dire need of repair. While we wait for critically needed investments, there has been important progress.

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Marian Wright Edelman

Family Economic Security Paid Family Leave Paid Sick Days Politics & Policy

October 12, 2016

My combined maternity leave through 4 different pregnancies is still far less than the 6 weeks that is suggested by our medical community for a new mom to take off to heal from just one delivery. My goal in life is to leave the world better for my children. That's why I wrote my state legislature, my U.S. Congressional members and the President. Of everyone I wrote, I never dreamed I would hear from the President.

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Bobbie Crawford

MomsRising Politics & Policy

October 11, 2016

As many of you know, North Carolina is in the process of creating its accountability plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA emphasizes a well-rounded education, prioritizing physical and mental health. We need to tell state education leaders that PE should be included in North...

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Felicia Burnett

Family Economic Security Politics & Policy

October 7, 2016

“Not long ago, Renee Bergeron—a single mother from Duluth, Minnesota—was between paychecks and took out a small payday loan to help cover her rent. Once her payday came around, Bergeron found—much to her dismay—that she was unable to pay her basic bills and also make her loan repayment. As a result...

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Lecia Imbery

Family Economic Security Paid Sick Days Politics & Policy

October 7, 2016

If you’ve been to a doctor’s office or pharmacy lately, you’ve seen the signs announcing that flu season is here, and urging you to get your flu shot now. Even if I do get the flu, I’ll count myself among the luckier ones, because my employer provides me with paid sick days. Not everyone is so lucky. The U.S. is one of only a few rich countries that doesn’t guarantee workers paid sick leave. Roughly 41 million workers in our country lack this basic protection to care for themselves or a sick family member. Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) took a step toward fixing this.

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Lecia Imbery

MomsVote Politics & Policy

October 7, 2016

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, I am certain he would be urgently saying it is a moral imperative for each one of us to register and vote in our local, state, and national elections this year — and every year. Shortly after Congressman John Lewis spoke movingly at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, he was asked on a radio show if he thought this was the time to organize another march on Washington. Without missing a beat, he replied: “I think the best march that we can have right now in America is on Election Day, November the eighth, for all of us all over America – Black and White, Latino, Native American, young people – to march to the polls. The vote is precious. It’s almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society.”

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Marian Wright Edelman

MomsRising Politics & Policy

October 5, 2016

“Our class did not get good grades and I think it’s because we didn’t get enough exercise.” ~ Ethan Last year, while my son, Ethan, was in the third grade at a Wake County school, he got just 15 minutes of recess each day, and PE only once or twice a week. It ended up being the hardest school year...

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Felicia Burnett

Politics & Policy

October 5, 2016

As a new parent there are so many rituals, new memories, and moments that unfold as the weeks and months go by. We watch our children form their first smile, utter their first sounds, cry their piercing cries. I was so nervous bringing my baby home. I felt like they were too fragile and that I was...

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Patrisse Cullors

Family Economic Security Paid Family Leave Paid Sick Days Politics & Policy

October 4, 2016

As a former federal contractor without the ability to earn paid sick days, I know firsthand what an incredible impact President Obama's Executive Rrder will have on families’ economic security and peace of mind.

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Katy S.

Families & The Federal Budget Health Care Politics & Policy

September 30, 2016

“ The Hyde Amendment is designed to deprive poor and minority women of the constitutional right to choose abortion.” – Justice Thurgood Marshall September 30th marks 40 years of the Hyde Amendment, the federal policy that denies access to abortion to millions who rely on government-funded health...

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