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Storm system to exit US, leaving behind at least 39 dead and vast destruction from tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms; ME farmers, others hurt by USDA freeze on funding grants; SNAP, Medicaid cuts would strain PA emergency food system; Trash 2 Trends: Turning garbage into glamour to fight climate change.

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Secretary of State Rubio pledges more arrests like that of student activist Mahmoud Khalil. Former EPA directors sound the alarm on Lee Zeldin's deregulation plans, and lack of opportunity is pushing rural Gen Zers out of their communities.

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Farmers worry promised federal reimbursements aren't coming while fears mount that the Trump administration's efforts to raise cash means the sale of public lands, and rural America's shortage of doctors has many physicians skipping retirement.

Parental Leave Seen as Key to Strengthening Families and Society

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Just 12 percent of American workers are offered paid family leave through their employer, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - while other developed countries offer as much as a year of leave to care for a child.

While that is shifting here among a handful of private- and public-sector employers, Kelly Johnson, spokeswoman for Attachment Parenting International, said there's a need to change the attitudes of the American workforce.

"There's such a stigma in the United States about taking that time off for any type of parental leave - whether it's male or female - and especially if it's a man taking time off," she said, "I feel like that is so frowned upon here."

Tennessee's parental-leave law gives eligible employees up to four months of unpaid leave for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth and nursing an infant, but they have to work for an employer with more than 100 employees.

October is Attachment Parenting Month, and Johnson said her organization is highlighting the importance of parental presence in the life of a young child. Increasing access to paid leave is part of their effort to enable parents to shape the life of their child and nurture the bond that will benefit them both as the child ages.

Beginning this year, federal employees were given the right to take six weeks of paid leave when they became parents. California, New Jersey and Rhode Island have paid family-leave programs.

According to the Center for Economic Policy Research, about 90 percent of California businesses say it either had a positive impact or none on profitability and helped reduce turnover. When employees are able to fulfill responsibilities at home, Johnson said, they are better able to do the same at work.

"I don't think businesses realize just how crucial that is," she said. "It makes for a healthier child. It makes for a happier family. There've been businesses that have found that it has actually increased their profitability."

Increasing access to paid leave is part of the effort to enable parents to shape the life of their child and nurture the bond that will benefit them both as the child ages.

The Center for Economic Policy research is online at cepr.net.


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