The issues facing families with young children in our country are numerous and well-known. It’s our politics that’s been the problem.
We know that the share of the federal budget devoted to children is relatively small and declining as a share of spending. Parents frequently want different arrangements for care and work than they can afford or negotiate, and parents’ jobs may not leave enough time or flexibility to care for young children. The share of people having children is declining, with many citing cost concerns. People with children are citing higher levels of pessimism about the future that awaits their kids. But our divided politics has gotten in the way of addressing these challenges. Or so it seemed.
Last year, the Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families convened regularly, representing the most ideologically diverse group of family policy leaders in recent memory, akin to the Congressionally-created National Commission on Children in 1987. Our group included representatives from the far left to the far right and ideological positions in between. It included representatives from think tanks, physicians, childcare providers, the private sector, and more. Most of us are parents ourselves.
Our work together uncovered that there is much more in common than meets the eye and many reforms that could generate a broad base of political support, even in a polarized political environment. Our 2024 report, In This Together, put forward an action agenda for employers, philanthropy, communities, and state and federal governments.
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This month, many of us sent a letter to Congress recommending five areas of cross-partisan action, including:
(1) Create a bipartisan commission at the federal level to support children and families.
(2) Enact a stable, predictable child-related cash benefit that primarily benefits low-to-moderate-income families.
(3) Design a holistic strategy of care options for parents of young children that reflect differing parental preferences and meet children’s needs.
(4) Create a baseline of federal protection and support for parents with newborns and newly adopted children.
(5) Improve federal fiscal responsibility and sustainability of benefits.
We are not alone in uncovering a broad consensus for family policy reform. Voters want it, too. In a new American Policy Ventures Post-Election Survey conducted by Echelon Insights, 83% of voters expressed support for a national program that would provide all employees access to paid family leave, and 79% of voters expressed support for providing childcare benefits to families with young children.
It’s over to Congress to listen.
Our partisan politics masks an underlying truth about children and families. We are in this together. How we nurture, care, and invest in America’s children today will shape our society tomorrow.
If you want to learn more, join us next week for the 2025 Policy Agenda for Family Flourishing event in Washington, DC!
Deep divisions make it increasingly difficult for Americans to work together to solve our biggest challenges. Since 2009, Convergence has been bringing together leaders, doers, citizens, and experts across ideological, political, and identity lines. Convergence drives solutions to critical challenges that would otherwise remain “stuck,” and the resulting societal impact improves lives.
