Ranking The States on Their Family Leave Laws and Policies

The National Partnership for Women & Families has issued a new report that ranks the states for their laws and workplace policies relating to expecting and new parents. The report says that 68 percent of American children live in families in which both parents work. Women with children are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two thirds of all families with children.

The report gave a grade of A to the state of California, the only state to earn the top grade. New York and the District of Columbia earned grades of A-. Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island earned grades of B+. California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York are the only states that have enacted laws requiring paid family leave for new parents.

The report gave a grade of F to 12 states. According to the authors, these states have failed to enact “a single law or program to support families before and after birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.” These 12 states are South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona.

The full report, Expecting Better: A State-by-State Analysis of Laws That Help Expecting and New Parents, may be downloaded by clicking here.