Bipartisan Bill Supports Parents in First Year Following Births, Adoptions

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation that provides resources to help new parents pay for leave and cover the cost of day care, baby supplies and other expenses associated with a new child. 
According to a release, the Advancing Support for Working Families Act would allow families the option to advance up to $5,000 of their recently-doubled child tax credit in the first year of a child’s life or the first year a family adopts a child. Families can also choose to advance their child credit without having to miss work or sacrifice a state or employer’s family/medical leave policy to pay for other expenses.
“In South Jersey, a minimum wage worker would need to work full time for 32 weeks, from January to August, just to pay for child care for one infant,” stated Van Drew. “Hundreds of thousands of Jersey families benefit from the Child Tax Credit every year and this proposal would help a vast proportion of these folks, especially those who are young parents and not earning as much early in their careers.
The bill empowers parents, provides families a dose of economic freedom if they choose this option and does not dictate how the funds must be used.”
Most other paid leave proposals require parents to take off work to receive benefits, this bill allows teleworkers the option to access child care benefits and to continue working from home while they take care of their new child. Additionally, the bill does not raise taxes or take away from Social Security. Low-income earners who do not qualify for the full refundable portion of the child tax credit can elect to receive a benefit adjusted to 100 percent wage replacement over 12 weeks of work.