Family Forward NC® Certified Community Campaign

Introduction

The North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) seeks applications from organizations interested in co-creating a campaign to increase the number of employers who provide family-friendly workplace benefits and be designated as a Family Forward NC® Certified Community.  This project aims to enhance the capacity of employers to adopt, and community coalitions to promote, family-friendly workplace policies, ultimately improving the health and well-being of children and the economic stability of North Carolina’s families. 

This project is funded by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Service, Division of Public Health - Injury and Violence Prevention Branch, to prevent violence and abuse by advancing health equity and improving economic supports, such as paid leave, health and wellness benefits, and family-sustaining wages.

Background

The Family Forward NC (FFNC) initiative engages employers to incorporate research-based, family-friendly policies that improve recruitment, retention, and productivity, all while supporting children’s healthy development. This includes key workplace policies such as paid parental and family leave, paid sick leave, on-site childcare, support for breastfeeding parents, and flexible work scheduling. We inspire the public and private sectors to address employment barriers through a child well-being lens. We provide employers, nonprofits, and decision-makers the resources, tools, and expertise that contribute to creating competitive businesses and strong families. 

Employers can apply for a Family Forward NC® Certification, which verifies and designates that they offer family-friendly policies and benefits. This campaign seeks to expand family-friendly workplaces across North Carolina through a community-wide certification strategy. A Family Forward NC® Certified Community is created through a partnership between NCECF and local leaders who will educate, engage, and motivate employers within their own community to offer family-friendly workplaces and become Family Forward NC® Certified Employers. In aggregate, a large number of certified employers represent a meaningful number of employees in a community with access to family-friendly workplaces.