Paid family leave in Rhode Island – referred to on Smith Hill as TCI, or Temporary Caregiver Insurance – is long overdue for an update.

For too many years, low-wage workers in our state have paid into TCI without the option to ever use it. Who among us, especially those earning minimum wage, can afford to take a 40% pay cut? Certainly not anyone already struggling to make ends meet.

Rhode Island has the highest employee payroll tax and one of the lowest wage reimbursement rates for a state paid family and medical leave program. The result? The paltry 60% wage reimbursement we have is wholly insufficient to sustain families during a time of medical crisis or the birth of a baby.

This year, legislation at the State House – if passed – would finally expand the wage reimbursement rate from 60% to 70% by January 2026, and up to 75% after January 2027. This reduces the income gap and improves both equity and access for working families in our state to be able to utilize the benefit they’ve already paid into. Additionally, by expanding the number of weeks people can utilize paid family leave, true caregiving becomes much more realistic.

Most people who utilize TCI benefits in Rhode Island are parents welcoming a new baby to their family. Medical research is abundantly clear that newborns who have longer bonding times with parents experience better socio-emotional, behavioral, temperamental and developmental outcomes. Sufficient bonding time benefits mothers and birthing parents, too; rates of maternal depression are decreased when paid family leave is freely available.

Conversely, returning to work before mothers have fully recovered or established infant bonding negatively affects the health of all involved. The American Academy of Pediatrics has applauded policy that provides 12 weeks of paid family leave, which would be accomplished by January 2028 with the passage of H 6066 and S 0974.

Apart from child care, no one should have to return to work before they have been able to help a family member fully recover from an illness, injury or medical event. Rhode Island has an aging population that will make aging in place and family caregiving even more crucial in the years to come.

Now is the time to act to make TCI – and thereby, caregiving – more realistic and accessible for families across our state. Good paid family leave policy is good for small businesses. Paid family leave is proven to save businesses money and improve employee satisfaction. Importantly, the program is fully funded by employees via a payroll tax, so there is no cost burden on the business or the state. Expanding the number of weeks available to Rhode Islanders from 6 to 12 would also boost the state’s economy, as benefits such as paid leave are among top considerations for professionals seeking jobs.

States with poorer paid leave policies are far less attractive to people considering relocating for their careers, and paid family leave is an area in which Rhode Island has fallen far behind. Massachusetts and Connecticut both provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave and have more inclusive family definitions than Rhode Island now does.

 In order for Rhode Island to be a place where people want to live, and for our families and aging population to be appropriately and sufficiently cared for, paid family leave urgently needs an upgrade. Let’s make this the year it finally happens – for all Rhode Islanders.

Becca Carroll is a Cranston resident who holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island and an alumna of the Women's Fund of Rhode Island's 2023-2024 Women's Policy Institute.