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Biden administration moves to protect Alaska wilderness; opening statements and first witness in NY trial; SCOTUS hears Starbucks case, with implications for unions on the line; rural North Carolina town gets pathway to home ownership.

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The Supreme Court weighs cities ability to manage a growing homelessness crisis, anti-Israeli protests spread to college campuses nationwide, and more states consider legislation to ban firearms at voting sites and ballot drop boxes.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Champions of Paid Care Leave: More Baby Talk Needed in Prez Debates

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012   

CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Abortion, contraception and equal pay for women have come up so far in the debates between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. However, a question largely missed by the campaigns is why America lags behind many other nations in providing paid leave for parents of newborn babies.

The case for paid care leave is made in a new book, "Time Off With Baby - The Case for Paid Care Leave," co-authored by Susan Muenchow. She says it is not in legislation pending in Congress, either.

"This has really been one of the victims of a very partisan Congress."

She backs a proposal for a three-month, publicly-supported paid leave, supplemented by three months of job-protected leave and a two-week "use it or lose it" bonus to encourage fathers to take part in the leave. She says the cost is low, and the projected savings are substantial.

It is not surprising that the presidential campaign has not touched on paid care leave, Muenchow says.

"In general there has not been very much discussion in this campaign about any sort of issues related to working families - other than getting them back to work. And clearly that is job number one."

Ellen Bravo, executive director of the group Family Values at Work, thinks such issues should be on the table.

"Instead of telling us how much a candidate loves his mother, we'd much rather hear, 'Okay, what will you do to make sure that mothers and fathers can be good parents when they have a new child?'"

Dana Friedman, president of the Early Years Institute, points to two states she says have initiated paid care leave plans that defy skeptics who claim it will burden businesses.

"Romney and Obama have not addressed the paid leave issue. As much as they might want women and children to get support, they don't want to put another mandate on business. As it turns out, California and New Jersey have found that the cost to employers is very nominal."

Studies show that long-term benefits from time off with babies include enhancement of children's cognitive, social and emotional development.



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