A new report finds fewer than one in four Arkansas residents have access to paid family leave through their employer. That’s despite a 2023 state law which allows certain insurance companies to offer family leave insurance to certain companies.
Chandra Childers, Ph.D., senior policy and economic analyst with the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), wrote the report. As Little Rock Public Radio and KUAF in Fayetteville, Arkansas report, Childers says offering comprehensive family and paid-leave programs can help boost maternal and infant health outcomes.
As Dr. Childers explains, “There’s a range of studies, not only to be able to take for bonding which is really important for both. But it’s also to take care of their health. It ranges from, you know, being able to make sure that they’re getting their doctors’ appointments, their vaccinations. There’s a range of health benefits that we see through this. And it’s lower mortality across the board.”…