Families have changed dramatically over recent decades, but employment practices have not kept pace. Today, most parents of young children – mothers as well as fathers – work, and an increasing number of us are also responsible for elderly or disabled relatives. With no paid leave policies in place, new parents must return to work before they or their children are ready. And when a crisis arrives, and working people must take time off to care for family members, they must forgo their paychecks, often at the very time they can least afford it.