Family Forward NC is an innovative initiative to improve children’s health and well-being and keep North Carolina’s businesses competitive. It is employer-led change to increase access to research-based, family-friendly practices — big and small — that improve workplace productivity, recruitment and retention; grow a strong economy; and support children’s healthy development.
Business Smart.
Family-friendly workplaces have a strong competitive advantage.
Family Friendly.
The benefits of family-friendly workplaces are numerous and long-lasting.
Future Ready.
To prepare our future workforce for success, we have to start in early childhood.
Families Have Changed.
But workplaces haven’t.


Seventy-five percent of US mothers and fifty percent of US fathers say they’ve passed up work opportunities, switched jobs, or quit to care for their children.Footnote # 1
Family Forward in Action
Three facts to prove the demand for family-friendly workplaces is here to stay
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on how we work are profound and long-lasting. Employers must (and are) continuing to adjust to the “new way of work,” which includes an…
Federal Report: Workers Without Paid Leave Quit Their Jobs More Than Workers With Paid Leave During the Pandemic
A new report issued late last month by the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis shows that workers who did not have access to sick pay or paid…
Employers Can Play a Role in Ensuring Children and Families are Safe From Violence
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we’re highlighting the important role employers can play to ensure all of North Carolina’s children and families feel safe and free from violence. …