DES MOINES, IOWA (January 30, 2020) — Family-friendly policies and work places can help Iowa employers attract and retain the best employees. That’s good for our whole economy, and it’s why I’m focused on addressing the challenges working families face.
Child care
Iowa needs to make affordable, high-quality child-care a reality for more families and providers.
Child care is a necessity for all working parents, but even more so in Iowa. According to Kids Count 2017, 75% of Iowa families with young children have all available parents in the labor force.
The high price of care forces many families to make tough choices, including compromising on quality of care, making career sacrifices and jeopardizing their economic security.
Organizations such as the United Way recommend increasing eligibility for child care subsidies to 200% of the federal poverty level because research shows it helps more families reach self-sufficiency.
Senate Democrats have filed a bill (SF 2110) to increase income eligibility for child care assistance over the next five years. This will allow more parents to keep their jobs and climb the ladder of success without nagging worries about their children’s safety.
Our proposal also mitigates the “cliff effect” by allowing families to receive child care assistance while their income rises. There’s no reason that a raise of just 15 cents per hour should jeopardize a family’s eligibility for assistance, as well as their household budget.
Leave for adoptive parents
If an Iowa employer offers leave for parents of biological newborns, they must provide this same leave for parents who adopt, according to bipartisan legislation moving forward in the Senate this year.
SF 476 requires employers to treat an employee who chooses to adopt in the same manner as an employee who is the biological parent of a newborn child for the purposes of employment policies, benefits and protections for the first year after adopting.
According to the Department of Public Health, Iowa saw 1,793 adoptions in 2018. This commonsense bill will help ensure Iowa remains a family friendly place to live and work.
Additional information
This is a legislative update by State Senator Jim Lykam, representing Davenport and Buffalo. For bio, photos and further information, go to senate.iowa.gov/senator/lykam.
To contact Sen Lykam when the Legislature is in session, call the Senate Switchboard at 515-281-3371. Otherwise he can be reached at 563-391-1919. E-mail him at jim.lykam@legis.iowa.gov.
Sen Lykam serves on the following committees:
