In our politically divided times, it seems almost impossible for elected leaders to work together across the aisle to pass policies that help everyday working parents put family first.

But the Georgia legislature is defying well-earned cynicism by advancing a bipartisan bill that empowers working parents to provide and care for their children. HB 1010, which the Georgia Legislature has the opportunity to pass into law this week, doubles the amount of paid parental leave for full-time public employees in our state, including teachers.

Currently, working parents employed by taxpayers receive a paltry three weeks of paid parental leave when a child is born, adopted, or brought into the home for foster care. Every parent and caregiver knows three weeks is not nearly enough time to bond, recover, and get your feet under you after bringing a new child home.

As a grandmother of 11 grandchildren as well as a minister, I know from repeated experience that there is no substitute for the bonding between parents and children in those first few precious, fragile weeks. Little ones learn to read our faces and voices as we learn to interpret their cries and anticipate their needs. It’s the foundation of a lifetime of love. And our bodies and sleep-deprived minds are not ready for fulltime work just three weeks after an even relatively smooth childbirth. It’s wrong to put parents in the impossible bind of choosing between family time and their paycheck during these tender days.

Paid leave has well-documented health benefits for mother and child. Infant mortality, preterm birth, low birthweight, intimate partner abuse, and rehospitalization for mothers all decrease when they have access to paid parental leave.

Georgia has fallen behind its neighbors when it comes to supporting families that work for the state. South Carolina, Louisiana and Tennessee provide six weeks paid parental leave for state employees, while North Carolina and Texas policies provide up to eight weeks. HB 1010 will help us recruit and retain our best educators and public employees.

It also benefits our overall workforce and our economy. Paid leave decreases employee turnover, and increases workforce participation and productivity among women. This improves overall economic growth. The benefits ripple outward. When a large employer offers family-supporting benefits, others have a strong incentive to follow suit. Instead of a “race to the bottom” where employers cut benefits and harm families’ health, the bar is raised and employers compete for workers by offering family-support benefits. When new parents can delay returning to work without losing their financial security, we all benefit.

Paid parental leave policies are exactly the kinds of measures that can make family a guiding principle, not just a buzzword, in politics. They build on a foundation of shared values. They make a concrete, positive difference for working parents and children. They show voters that decency and family values can overcome division and partisanship in our legislature. The Georgia General Assembly must pass the final version of the bill before session’s end, and Governor Kemp must sign it into law. It’s the right thing for Georgia’s workers, families and economy.

Min. Shavonne D. Williams
Georgia Values Action
Hephzibah, GA