This commentary is by Nicole Sener of Essex Junction. She is executive director of Milton Family Community Center (MFCC), one of Vermont’s 15 state-designated parent child centers. She brings to this work a diverse background in nonprofit and education management, spanning from the Peace Corps to literacy-based national non-profits. She is a soon-to-be mother of two.
Paid leave is a top priority for my employees.
We returned home after my son was born grateful for a healthy outcome after a long, traumatic birthing experience and a week in the hospital. My husband’s employer called three days later. It was Friday at 5 p.m., and they told him he was expected in the office on Monday morning.
With my reduced salary and our new child, my husband could not push back his start date or quit his job. Instead, I was forced to learn how to take care of our baby on my own, much earlier than anticipated — often breaking medical advice for my recovery to do so.
My husband was forced to miss critical moments for early bonding with our child. And we added to the stress by immediately looking for new jobs with employers that explicitly support families. We were lucky to find them.
I am now the executive director of the Milton Family Community Center, one of the Vermont Parent Child Center Network’s (VPCCN) 15 state-designated centers focused on strengthening families. Our team regularly supports households through the impact of both emotional and financial stress that comes with caregiving — and we only see this impact growing as more families than ever access our food shelf, diaper bank and other family supports.
Yet my hardworking staff lacks the support they need to properly take care of themselves and their own families. Despite my commitment to fostering a supportive workplace, the budget and benefits I can offer my employees fall short.
A recent staff retention survey named paid leave as a top priority. But we, as a small employer, simply cannot afford to provide paid leave benefits from the private market.
A state-run, universal paid leave program would spread the risk and contributions across Vermont’s workforce, providing strong coverage for every worker at a significantly lower cost per person than otherwise possible. It’s the solution we need.
This coverage would give my employees the peace of mind and support to continue doing their important work in our community. It would also put small organizations like mine on a more even footing when competing with larger institutions for employees.
While my family had the social capital to overcome a combination of underfunded or nonexistent leave, and are grateful to be in a different position as we await our second child’s arrival, I am reminded every day through my work that these opportunities do not exist for the majority of Vermont families.
Every child and every family deserves a strong start. I urge Vermont lawmakers to pass a strong paid family and medical leave bill, like H.66, this session. Vermonters cannot wait.
