The Latest

First in Business, First for Families?

This spring, Virginia became the first Southern state to establish a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance (PFMLI) program. Beginning in 2028, nearly all workers in the state will have access to up to 12 weeks of paid leave to: Welcome a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care Recover from a serious health condition Care for a family member with a serious health condition Address military family needs Respond to situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking Virginia’s program will be funded through small contributions from employers an…

 Small Business Month Spotlight: A New Tool to Help You Invest in What Works

Explore Family Forward NC®’s new Paid Family Leave ROI Calculator, designed to help employers make smart, data-driven decisions about paid family leave. May is National Small Business Month, a time to celebrate the entrepreneurs and employers who power North Carolina’s economy and strengthen our communities. At Family Forward NC®, we know that small businesses are not only economic drivers but also essential to the well-being of working families. That’s why we’re proud to introduce a powerful new resource designed with employers in mind: the Family Forward NC® Paid Family Leave ROI Ca…

Family Forward NC® Summit: Employers Pledge Action

More than 100 business leaders from across North Carolina gathered in High Point on March 25 for the Family Forward NC® Summit. The theme – Future-Proof Your Workforce – focused on advancing workplace policies that support employees and their families and deliver a positive return on investment for employers.   Employers said the Summit supported their efforts to adopt family-friendly workplace policies and that they went home with actions and strategies to implement or consider in their workplaces. From Volvo to Highland Brewing Co. to Book Harvest and Elon U…

When Safety and Paychecks Collide

For many survivors of sexual assault, safety, stability, and recovery are tied to their jobs – yet workplace protections remain uneven across North Carolina For the past 25 years, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center has helped lead Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), uniting survivors, advocates, and communities around a shared goal: ending sexual assault, abuse, and harassment. This anniversary is both a moment to acknowledge progress and a reminder that the work is not yet complete. This year’s theme, “25 Years Stronger: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” captures that dua…

Work That Works for Families

New Benchmarking Report Shows Where North Carolina Employers Are Leading – and Where More Support Is Needed What makes a workplace truly family-friendly? A new report from Family Forward NC® offers one of the clearest pictures yet. Work that Works for Families: Benchmarking Family Forward NC® Certified Employers analyzes the policies and practices of 132 Family Forward NC® Certified Employers across 40 North Carolina counties, alongside nearly 8,000 employee survey responses collected between October 2022 and June 2025. Together, those employers represent 296 business locations…

Biennial Report Shows Small Shifts Are Driving Big Payoffs for North Carolina Workplaces 

Family-friendly workplaces are no longer a nice extra. They are a smart business strategy. Family Forward NC®’s new 2024–2025 Biennial Report, Small Shifts. Big Payoffs. Transforming Workplaces in North Carolina, shows how employers across the state are adopting policies that support working families while strengthening recruitment, retention, productivity, and workplace culture. The report captures a period of major growth for Family Forward NC®.  Since launching its Employer Certification in 2022, the initiative has helped set a statewide standard for family-friendl…

New Certified Employers Set Themselves Apart

Running shoes, child care, dental insurance, health care. These are just a few of the products and services offered by our new certified employers. In the past six months, 15 employers have been certified or recertified as family-friendly workplaces. Their number of employees ranges from six to more than 3,245, working in 22 counties, eight of which are rural. More stats:✅ Largest employer: Appalachian State University✅ Smallest employer: Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce✅ Employees working for certified employers: 5,454✅ County with the most certifications: Watauga Here’s who we ar…

A Strong Finish, a Bold Start: Our Path Into 2026

We’re leaving 2025 with strong winds behind us. The momentum across the country is propelling change – to create workplaces that work for parents, caregivers and employers. Employees now see family friendly workplace benefits as necessary, not nice to have and Family Forward NC® is setting the standard in our state. We leave 2025 with much appreciation for you – our newsletter readers, certified employers, our board of directors, advocates for families and children and those caring for our children. Change happens when you are inspired to make it happen! We aim to continue to…

North Carolina Can Lead on Family-Friendly Work — If We Act

💡 “Insufficient child care availability drains $5.65 billion from North Carolina’s economy each year through lost productivity and turnover.”—  Status of Women in North Carolina: Investing in Economic Opportunity (2025) By Lisa Finaldi A new statewide report from the NC Council for Women & Youth Involvement and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research makes one thing clear: when women thrive, North Carolina thrives. The Status of Women in North Carolina: Investing in Economic Opportunity report confirms what families and employers across the state already know: Child care acc…

New Story Highlights the Life-Saving Impact of ‘Safe Leave’ Policies in NC Workplaces

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:Lisa FinaldiFamily Forward NC | North Carolina Early Childhood Foundationlfinaldi@buildthefoundation.org | (919) 895-3290 x 702 RALEIGH, N.C., October 9, 2025 — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF), through its Family Forward NC® initiative, has published a new feature exploring the growing importance of safe leave—a workplace policy that allows survivor…

Safe Leave: The Policy You’ve Probably Never Heard Of—But Every Workplace Needs

When we think about family-friendly workplace policies, we often picture flexible schedules, paid parental leave, or child care stipends. But there’s one life-saving policy most people have never heard of — safe leave. Safe leave is a workplace policy that allows survivors of domestic or sexual violence—or their family members—to take time off for critical needs such as medical care, legal proceedings, or child-related appointments without having to disclose their situation or provide documentation. It may sound simple, but for many survivors, it can mean the difference between dan…

Welcome 32 New Employers to our Family Forward NC® Certification

We are proud to welcome 32 new employers to our Family Forward NC® Certification during the first half of 2025. These employers represent more than 21,594 employees in North Carolina who have family friendly benefits. The majority of certified employers hailed from the Triad, contributing to Greensboro being recognized as the first Family Forward NC® Certified Community in our state. This cohort represents a diverse group of employers – nonprofits, local government, manufacturing, health care, and the service sector. They care for your health, teach your kids, serve you lunch,…