First Paid Family Leave Program Failed to Increase Medical Leave Among Parents

Pediatricians need to be aware of important financial resources for parents of chronically ill children and to encourage parents to use them.

In 2004, California passed the first Paid Family Leave Insurance (PFLI) legislation that offers 6 weeks of compensation (about 55% of salary up to a maximum of US$917/week in 2008) annually after employees miss a total of 1 week of work. To assess use and awareness of this program, researchers conducted telephone interviews with employed parents of children with chronic illnesses who were treated at a children’s hospital in California 1 year before and 1 year after the program began and with a comparison group of parents recruited from a children’s hospital in Illinois.

The percentage of California parents who reported taking leave to care for their child was similar during the year before and the year after the PFLI program was implemented …

Reviewing Author

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)