Compared to unpaid leave, paid family leave may better help working parents balance the competing needs of job and family early in a child's life, among other advantages. Yet the United States remains one of only two countries in the world without a statutory national paid maternity leave policy, and one of the only high-income countries that…

This report is a primer on the multifaceted issues that state legislators are likely to confront under the rubric of human resource development. Chapter 1 proposes a philosophy: enabling every citizen to become a productive member of the 21st century economy is in a state's best interest both socially and fiscally. Chapter 2 focuses on the premium…