No Paid Family Leave? A Growing Number of States Allow Babies at Work.

Huge numbers of students lack the chance to go to college because of financial problems. Recently, Kalamazoo schools received more funding allowing them to have the chance to help and pay for students to then go to college and receive a higher education.

Earlier this month, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed new rules to regulate payday lending – the business of offering high-cost short-term loans to Americans on terms that many consumer advocates consider predatory.

The United States has refused to institute a carbon tax, but Canada has agreed to a carbon tax in all provinces by 2018. The carbon tax has received support across party lines, however, some elections remain to see if the carbon tax favoring candidates are elected.

Flexibility allows employees to “work smarter and better.” The productivity payoffs of offering part-time hours and remote work outweigh the administrative costs of such policies, according to a study in Australia.

Seattle residents receive cash vouchers to contribute to local campaigns of their choosing. The taxpayer-funded program aims to broaden political participation and counter the influence of big donors. The idea is spreading to other cities, including Albuquerque and Austin.

Stockholm, Sweden is known as the best city in the world for work-life balance, as it boasts flexible work hours and nearly two years' parental leave per child for each parent. While raising a child with a full-time career still poses challenges, the norm for businesses in Stockholm is to cater to working parents' busy schedules in order to support equal childcare between mothers and fathers.

Leading up to Father’s Day, Philadelphia criminal justice organization Frontline Dads raised money to bail out fathers. Inspired by the annual Mother’s Day bailouts that happen around the country, Frontline Dad aims to not just free father’s, but raise awareness about the issue of cash bail as well. Beyond bailing out fathers, participants will also have access to services like haircuts, counseling, and job placement assistance.

Europe's generous social policies, such as allowing employees to retain their salaries while taking sick time to care for themselves or family members, may help to mitigate the coronavirus outbreak while also safeguarding the economy. Although the long-term impacts are yet unknown, in the short term, government-provided incentives are helping people and businesses stay afloat.

A psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) is a role that combines the medical expertise of a nurse with mental health training. PMHNPs undergo special certification to combine the two fields and help ease the strain on the mental health workforce, which has been significantly depleted since the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that PMHNPs will be the fastest-growing profession over the next decade and several universities are obtaining grants to boost their PMHNP programs, providing stipends for those who want to earn the certification.

The New Mexico Rural Library Initiative advocated for an endowment fund to create a perpetual funding source for a group of community libraries in small, low-income towns. The money in the fund is invested, and the interest earned is distributed to the libraries each year.