Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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For four decades in classrooms across the state, I have seen the faces of children light up when they make a new discovery. I’ve seen the confidence they gain when they succeed with new skills.
But for our kids to succeed at school, they need all the help they can get at home first. That begins by making sure parents are able to spend quality time with their children during critical developmental periods.
Study after study proves that the time between birth and infancy is a critical period for bonding and growth for both children and parents. Unfortunately, our society and current system favors working over raising healthy families. Far too many children are affected by this system — restrictions on paid leave and time off forces parents to work and leaves them very little time to spend with their kids.
We need paid family leave, plain and simple. We need more than just paid parenting leave when families have children, we need paid leave that allows people to take time off to take care of their families. We can’t say health care should be a right, not a privilege, while refusing to allow families to take care of themselves in times of need.
Only 19% of workers have access to FMLA-like programs, and few have the time needed to even use it. That is why this session, the Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill 312, the paid leave law, and the governor signed it. This law will give Nevadans the time they need to take care of their kids or sick family members. But this is just in Nevada; we still need federal protections for children and families.
I was deeply moved when presidential candidate Kamala Harris released a bold and innovative plan recently called the Children’s Agenda. This is a wraparound approach to give families every opportunity for success, starting at birth with a guarantee of six months of paid family and medical leave.
But her plan goes beyond children too, with mandated time for anyone facing a medical crisis or the need to help take care of family in need. Harris is following the lead of our Legislature and working to make it happen nationwide.
As a longtime educator and education champion in the Legislature, I also applaud the senator for including a focus on education in her plan. It’s putting children first by supporting mental and physical care for students, whether they are in the heart of our cities like Las Vegas, or living in our rural communities like Elko. That means access to a nurse and social worker with the knowledge that kids today face pressures and stress like no other generation. These investments are crucial, and we can’t abdicate this duty to our children.
I encourage all of our presidential candidates to share their plans to support healthy families. This issue goes hand in hand with other key issues like health care, mental health and economic justice. We must commit to making our kids’ future a top priority.
Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, served in the Nevada Legislature from 2007-10 and from 2013 to present. She represents District 5.
