NJ Assembly passes Paid Family Leave!

At 6:10 pm (EST) today, the state Assembly voted to pass (!) A-873, the measure that would give six weeks’ paid family leave to care for newborns, sick family members and newly adopted children.
The vote was 46-30 with two abstentions. The Senate this past Monday passed its version of the bill, S-786.
Next — and final — stop before [...]

Vote set on Paid Family Leave in NJ

The full New Jersey Assembly is scheduled to vote tomorrow on A-873 — its version of Senate bill S-786 approved last week — which would guarantee workers six weeks of paid leave for, among other things, caring for a newly adopted child. Click the Paid Family Leave tab above for past posts chronicling the bills, [...]

NJ advances open records, family leave legislation!

It’s been quite a busy week here in New Jersey for legislators and those with a stake in adoption-related laws.
Two bills — which for many years have floundered at various stages of the legislative process — have each made a substantial leap forward, and hold more hope than ever for adoptees seeking open access to [...]

NJ’s adoption leave bill lives!

Rally your troops. Circle your wagons. Write a legislator.
It’s been a year since S-2249, New Jersey’s paid family leave bill, was introduced and it still has a pulse, folks.
On Thursday, Dec. 6, the measure will face its next test as it comes up for a vote by the state’s Assembly Labor Committee. This summer Gov. Jon [...]

Adoption and Awareness

As noted in a comment to yesterday’s post (thanks, Lauren!), not only is November NaBloPoMo, the month also is dedicated to promoting adoption awareness.
Let me be clear. For me, promoting adoption awareness doesn’t mean making people aware of adoption. It means making people aware about the issues in adoption.
This means talking. Talking about the absolute importance of ethics in [...]

NaBloPoMo 2007

This month marks one year since I began this little blogging spot for myself, with all sorts of goals and fresh-faced optimism at making her a living, breathing entity that would loosely chronicle my experiences as a first-time parent and as a mother and a wife touched by adoption, as well as serving as a place to [...]

Adoption: Employee benefits

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal discusses how increasing numbers of companies are stepping up with adoption benefits, or increasing the adoption benefits they already offer, including longer paid time off or increased reimbursement of adoption expenses.
The article contrasts the bump up in benefits for some with the increasing amount of red tape and restrictions [...]

Adoption Leave moves forward!

Success! S-2249 was approved 8-6 today by the Budget and Appropriations Committee and will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration!
New Jersey is on its way — at least closer than ever before — to securing paid family leave for all, and being the second state in the nation to stand by its [...]

Adoption Leave: Sample language

One more reminder that tomorrow’s the vote on S-2249, the bill to mandate paid family leave, which would include adoptive parents.
Need a quick primer? Scroll down a couple posts to get the full story and links to past essays detailing the bill.
Now’s the time to send off those notes of support to the heads of [...]

Adoption Leave: Defining Moment

If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it.
You have an obligation to change it.
You just do it one step at a time.
– Marian Wright Edelman
OK, folks. This. Is. It.
Two days from now, on Thursday, the piece of New Jersey legislation I’ve written about extensively here and here — it gives all working [...]