Recognizing All Families to Expand Our Movements

Everyone cares for a loved one at some point in their lives. The failure of laws in the United States to both support family caregiving and recognize the rich variety of families is a major shortcoming. Fortunately, advocates have been increasingly successful in the fight to guarantee paid leave and expand legal conceptions of who constitutes “family.”

Making Paid Leave Work for All Families

This report from Forward Together, The Center for American Progress, Family Values @ Work and A Better Balance examines the definition of family in paid leave policy, the ways in which the definition leads to discrimination against LGBT families and the ways in which policy makers can ensure that our leave policies work for all families.

Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families

Led by Forward Together and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights with the support of Research Action Design and 20 grassroots partners, this report proves that the costs of locking up millions of people is much deeper than we think — when we lock up individuals we also break apart their families and communities. This new report reveals the overwhelming debt, mental and physical ailments and severed family bonds that are some of the hidden consequences of incarceration in the United States. The situation is dire, but a better approach is possible according to the report, which suggests critical and achievable family-centered reforms.