After weeks in the NICU, time together became everything. Jen Stout knew how different this moment could have been without the leave she had.

When Jen Stout gave birth to her son in 2022, he spent his first five and a half weeks in the NICU. As a single mother, she faced a reality few parents are prepared for: what would happen when the paid leave from her job ran out.

“If I’d only had six weeks of leave, he would have just gotten out of the NICU – and I would have had to go back to work,” said Stout, who is now an early education policy analyst at Voices for Utah Children. “He wasn’t ready for daycare. I couldn’t afford private in-home care. No parent should have to choose between caring for a medically fragile newborn just out of the NICU and risking their paycheck or even their job.”

That experience would later shape her role in helping advance paid family and medical leave (PFML) policy in her home state of Utah.

In the NICU, every moment matters. Jen Stout’s son spent his first five and a half weeks here, shaping her understanding of how critical time - and support - can be.

Stout became involved through a coalition effort supported by the American Heart Association and made possible in part through funding from Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association. The coalition brought together advocates, people directly impacted by these challenges and policy experts – and helped engage The Policy Project, which ultimately led the effort to move legislation forward.

To help ground advocacy efforts in the broader policy landscape, Martín Muñoz, KIDS COUNT director at Voices for Utah Children, supported the coalition’s back-end research by leading the development of a comprehensive analysis of paid family and medical leave policies across Utah’s cities and counties. This work provided a clearer picture of where gaps existed and where progress was already underway, helping advocates and lawmakers better understand how a statewide approach could build on local momentum.

“By mapping what was already happening at the local level, we were able to show that paid leave is not a new or abstract idea. It is something Utah communities are already prioritizing,” Muñoz said. “That context helped shift the conversation from whether we should act to how we can expand access more equitably across the state.”

While The Policy Project led the charge, Stout – through Voices for Utah Children – brought the work to life by pairing data with lived experience. She built momentum by engaging lawmakers, sharing research, and amplifying her story through Senate testimony and an op-ed in The Salt Lake Tribune ahead of key committee hearings.

Initially, she hadn’t planned to share her personal story publicly.

“But after listening to testimony against the bill, I realized lawmakers needed to hear what this actually looks like in real life,” she said. “Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have. When people share what they’ve been through, you can see lawmakers really stop and listen.”

That moment – unplanned and deeply personal – helped ground the policy debate in reality.

From fragile beginnings to moments of connection, Jen’s experience highlights both the challenges families face and the importance of having time to care for a newborn.

The legislation ultimately passed, expanding paid leave for state employees, including increasing leave for birthing parents, adding paid leave for foster parents and strengthening workplace protections for breastfeeding. Teachers, however, were not included in these provisions, as originally mentioned in the bill's first draft, leaving important work ahead to ensure more workers can access these supports.

For Hannah Randall, government relations director for the American Heart Association in Utah, the win marks meaningful progress driven in part by her work supporting legislative engagement and grassroots activation.

“Utah often prides itself on being a state that values families, but our policies haven’t always reflected that,” Randall said. “This is a significant step forward by giving parents more time to care for and bond with their children without immediately facing financial pressure.”

Randall added, “Even incremental progress like this matters. It creates momentum and shows what’s possible.”

Jen Stout didn’t plan to share her story, but when she did, it helped lawmakers understand what families truly need.

Jeni Palmer, the state relations manager at Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center and a member of the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers (NCIT) Steering Committee emphasized that the success of bills like this reflect the power of coordinated, multi-sector advocacy. From coalition-building to communications support, Voices for Healthy Kids helped create the conditions for partners to collaborate effectively, elevate lived experiences and move policy forward.

“Efforts like this reflect broader lessons we see across states: when research, lived experience, and cross-sector collaboration come together, it can help build momentum for policy change. At the same time, continued progress depends on advancing comprehensive, evidence-based solutions that meet the needs of all families,” said Palmer.

Today, Stout’s son is a thriving, energetic, active child who loves soccer, gymnastics and swimming. But she hasn’t forgotten how different the outcome could have been.

“I was fortunate to have more leave than most,” she said. “But too many families don’t have that option. Policies like this shape people’s lives, and we can’t lose sight of that.”