All workers—regardless of where they live or work—should have access to paid family and medical leave (PFML) to ensure that they can be healthy and provide the care and stability infants, toddlers, and their families need to thrive. Yet too many working parents and caregivers are forced to sacrifice their jobs, their savings, and their health when they need time off to bond with their young children, care for a sick or injured family member, or recover from their own serious illness. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that does not guarantee paid leave, leaving millions of babies without the care they need in their earliest—and most critical—months of life.

Just 13 states and Washington, D.C., provide PFML, covering just a quarter of private-sector workers and a third of people who work for state and local governments. All workers should be able to manage personal and family life events without worrying about losing their income or job. And that’s something everyone—no matter where they live or what they believe—can agree on. Investing in paid leave is a smart fiscal decision. States with paid leave programs see fewer families relying on public assistance, lowering costs for taxpayers. That’s why the Voices for Healthy Kids is working with organizations in over 26 states to increase the capacity of state PFML policy  initiatives—and we are seeing success across the board,  including in conservative states, where people assume this  work will be harder, but we continue to find support.

By bringing grassroots advocates together through coordinated organizing efforts; offering a full suite of campaign consultation services; breaking down data and research; and providing messaging, tools, training, and resources for campaigns, we have proven that progress is possible in every state. Voices for Healthy Kids meets states where they are supporting an incremental approach in the short term to reach our ultimate long-term goals.

Here are just a few of those success stories.

Expanding paid leave in TENNESSEE to support all family members

In April 2025, Voices for Healthy Kids worked with the local American Heart Association, A Better Balance, and ThinkTennessee, to help pass HB 915/SB 322, which expands on the state’s previous six-week paid family leave policy to include workers caring for family members who are seriously ill or at the end of their lives. With this policy, Tennessee became the first southern state to expand its paid family leave policy beyond parental leave.

Voices for Healthy Kids helped ensure this victory for the coalition through a number of our core strategies, including:

Leading grassroots engagement, including efforts at Tennessee’s State Capitol that were strategically scheduled to coincide with committee hearings.

Driving media advocacy, including placing op[1]eds focused on the benefits of paid family and medica’ leave for small businesses and work force support in The Tennessean.

Partnering with influential organizations across the full political spectrum. By specifically identifying and working with organizations influential with conservative decision-makers such as the Tennessee State Employees Association and AARP—advocates managed to gain credibility and support from lawmakers not traditionally viewed as supportive of PFML.

Building Unlikely Alliances To Win Paid Parental Leave in MISSISSIPPI

In March 2025, Voices for Healthy Kids worked with the local American Heart Association, A Better Balance, and Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable to help pass HB 1063, which gives Mississippi state government employees six weeks of paid parental leave. The coalition, with Voices for Healthy Kids’ support, focused its campaign around strategic messaging that would appeal to conservative policymakers.

With those messages in hand, it found success with:

Grassroots engagement and media advocacy, including drafting and placing op-eds in local media outlets and partnering with university communities to advocate for paid family leave policies for educators.

Influencing decision-makers using an “influence the influencer” strategy to leverage partner relationships with the attorney general, who was particularly motivated by maternal support messaging and the economic benefits of paid family leave. With the attorney general’s support, a number of conservative legislators—many of them women—championed the bill and helped secure its passage.

 Highlighting data that points to the cost-effectiveness of paid family leave and its impact on employee retention, which appealed to lawmakers’ concerns about the policy’s return on investment.

Helping ALABAMA Recruit And Retain Teachers Through Paid Leave

In April 2025, Voices for Healthy Kids worked with the local American Heart Association, Alabama Arise, the Alabama Education Association, A Better Balance, the State Employees Association, and the Women’s Foundation of Alabama to pass the Alabama Public Employee Paid Parental Leave Act of 2025, which provides up to eight weeks of paid leave for state employees and K-12 educators, providing the added benefit of enabling the state to better recruit and retain teachers and state employees.

The work included:

Grassroots engagement, including holding advocacy days at the state Capitol in partnership with the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, and the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, one of which attracted more than 250 advocates.

Working with leaders on both sides of the aisle, with key sponsors and support from the governor, leading to nearly unanimous approval of the bill.

Identifying and partnering with influential organizations to gain support for the bill, including the American Heart Association, the Alabama Education Association, and the State Employees Association.

Get involved in the movement to expand paid family and medical leave to all 50 states

In the absence of a federal paid leave program, too many workers across the country will continue to be forced to sacrifice their savings, their jobs or even their health when they need time off, and our nation’s children will suffer as a result.

We need your help to ensure the next generation of children has every resource they need to grow into healthy adults.

Find out how you can get involved at voicesforhealthykids.org.