Action Alert: Support Paid Sick Days for Parents of Sick Children

President Obama and Congress will be heading back to Washington DC in a few weeks and will resume working on the federal budget. Every Child Matters will keep you informed as they begin the hard work of determining the budget for children’s education and health programs this fall as well as make significant long-term changes to the budget as part of the deal to increase the debt ceiling made earlier this month.

Beyond protecting proven children’s programs from reckless cuts, there is plenty more Congress can do to benefit working families with children during these challenging economic times. Our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families are leading the fight for the Healthy Families Act and raising awareness about the need for a common sense paid sick days standard in this country — building on laws enacted in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut.

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults say they have lost a job or been threatened with job loss because they had to stay home sick or care for a sick child or family member.   This explains why parents without paid sick days are more than twice as likely as parents with paid sick days to send a sick child to school or day care, where many will likely get sicker and spread contagious illnesses to the school community.

So this back-to-school season, we urge you to contact your elected officials in the link below and talk to other parents, teachers and school nurses in your community about the need for paid sick days.

To help you take action and speak out in your community, take a look at a Back to School Toolkit from the National Partnership for Women and Families.