Early education expert: It’s time to provide paid family leave to help protect babies

by Biz Harris, Mississippi Today
March 14, 2025

Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a new platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share fact-based ideas about our state’s past, present and future. You can read more about the section here.

Mississippi leaders say they are taking steps to protect the lives of our babies. One way they can do that is by ensuring they get a healthy, strong start.

About 100 babies are born in Mississippi each day — about one per county. Each of these new lives is full of potential and as a state we have a responsibility to support them during this crucial stage. From the very beginning, early relationships with parents and caregivers shape brain connections that lay the foundation for lifelong learning and relationships.

Given the importance of this window of time, it is exciting that the Mississippi Legislature has passed a bill that is pending the signature of Gov. Tate Reeves to provide six weeks of paid leave to state employees who are primary caregivers of newborns or adopted children. While research shows that at least eight weeks of paid leave for new or adoptive parents can strengthen babies’ brain development, reduce infant mortality, and improve overall child health outcomes, six weeks will still be beneficial. Additionally, any amount of leave can ease the burden on the child care system while also enhancing employee retention and productivity. By allowing families to spend time with their newborns during this pivotal time, Mississippi can create lasting benefits for both children and the workforce.

I was fortunate to have eight weeks of paid leave with my children, followed by an additional month at half pay. This time together was invaluable for my children’s  development, school readiness and overall health. Today, they are thriving– emotionally stable, socially engaged and eager learners in first and fifth grade.

However, not all children receive this time with and support from a parent or caregiver. In Mississippi, only 20% of workers have access to paid leave, and many mothers return to work just two weeks after giving birth.

This early separation can take a serious toll since the first eight weeks of life are a crucial period for brain growth and bonding. By two weeks, babies recognize their parents’ voices; by five weeks, they respond to faces with excitement; and by eight weeks, they find comfort in familiar caregivers. These early interactions lay the foundation for lifelong emotional and cognitive development, making paid leave not just a benefit, but a necessity for families and the future of our children.

Paid leave is more than just a brain-boosting tool—it’s a proven way to save infant lives. In 2024, Mississippi ranked last nationally in infant mortality, highlighting an urgent need for solutions. Research shows that 10 weeks of paid maternity leave is linked to about a 10% reduction in neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality.

Paid leave gives parents the time to attend critical medical appointments, receive guidance from doctors on how to care for and protect their babies, ensure proper vaccinations, and respond to health concerns before they become life-threatening. By providing paid leave, Mississippi can take a crucial step toward improving infant survival rates.

I believe that any amount of paid leave is valuable for children, but at least eight weeks of leave ensures that our babies remain safe and healthy when parents return to work. The CDC recommends that infants get most of their necessary vaccines at eight weeks–not before – and without these vaccinations they are not able to attend child care programs since they are susceptible to dangerous diseases. Without any paid leave, however, many parents must choose between caring for and protecting  their newborn’s health and avoiding financial hardship—a choice no parent should have to make.

Paid leave can also assist with Mississippi’s critical child care shortage. Many mothers struggle to find available infant care, forcing them to reduce work hours or leave their jobs entirely. According to Mississippi State University’s Systems Change Lab, in 2023 there were only enough child care slots for about two-thirds of Mississippi children. Infant care, the most limited and expensive form of care, is particularly scarce.

Paid leave alleviates pressure on the child care system by reducing immediate demand for infant slots and allowing families time to secure the best arrangements for their needs.

My own experience with paid leave allowed me to care for my newborns, ensure they received necessary vaccinations, and transition them into child care so I could return to work. Without this opportunity, I might have had to leave a job I loved, costing my employer money to recruit and train my replacement. Instead, I was able to return and contribute to my team. By offering paid leave to state employees, the state can retain new parents and save these same costs.

By offering paid leave, we can protect our state’s babies while also saving money and boosting efficiency by retaining state employees. More importantly, we can allow families to care for their newborns in ways that lay a strong foundation for their future– building their brains, supporting their health, and encouraging wellbeing—without jeopardizing their livelihoods.

Now is the time for the state to make this commitment for the sake of Mississippi and our babies.

Biz Harris is the executive director of the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance. She is also an alumna of Teach for America’s Mississippi Delta Region where she began her career in education as a teacher in Marks.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi women who work in government don’t get a single day of paid time off after giving birth or adopting a child. That’s about to change. 

A bill that cleared the Legislature Friday will give six weeks of paid family leave to primary caregivers who are state employees. It now heads to the governor to be signed into law.

“This is a great day for Mississippi,” said Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, author of the bill. “We’re placing the value on mothers and children in a post-Roe vs. Wade society. And it’s time we put our money where our mouths are.” 

House Bill 1063 will apply to state employees who adopt or give birth to a child and are the primary caregiver for that child. It applies to employees working for state government agencies but does not include public school teachers. 

The bill passed the House unanimously with a vote of 118-0. 

The original version of the House bill included eight weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers and two weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers before it was amended by the Senate.

Felsher said he would consider expanding paid leave provisions in the future after seeing how effective it is. 

“I’ve been strong for pro-life and for mothers and children, and also fathers, so I’m all about the family. And so if this is something we can continue discussions on in the future and it’s successful, I would gladly lead the charge on that.”

The policy has garnered wide support from leadership in both chambers. Speaker of the House Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann have championed it. Attorney General Lynn Fitch has also publicly spoken out in support of it. 

Proponents say it acts as a recruitment and retention tool for the public sector, which tends to pay less than the private sector. 

“We have trouble retaining workers because our pay sometimes is not as competitive as the private sector, so this is just one more tool to allow us to retain folks,” said Felsher. 

Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, authored a similar bill which has also had overwhelming support this year. For him, the issue was personal – and simple. 

“The exhaustion of having a new baby at home, and the joy of doing that – it’s something that you’ll never get back,” England said. “And so for that reason, as a father, it was very important for me to do that.”

England said he was surprised to learn that this policy didn’t already exist.

“We’ve had state employees that have children, and we celebrate with them, and I just had no idea they weren’t getting that time,” he said. 

Mississippi will now join 36 other states in offering dedicated paid family leave for state employees, according to A Better Balance, a national nonprofit advocating for better work-life balance. 

“The cost of living, the turmoil in the world … you look around and I imagine you do think ‘Wow, is it a great time to be a parent?’ And this should not be one thing that you have to think about, in my opinion,” Felsher said. “If you want to be a parent, we as a state need to be here in that role as an employer and say: ‘We’ll stand behind you being a parent and having a healthy child.’”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

In a shopping center known as the Northwest Junction sits a KFC, a wings restaurant, Rose’s, a discount shopping store, and a medical cannabis dispensary. What’s noticeably missing? A grocery store.

The Junction used to be home to Food Depot, but in 2023, the store shuttered its doors, leaving this part of Northwest Jackson in a food swamp – that is, an area that’s lacking fresh produce and vegetables but has a plethora of fast food restaurants and gas station dives. 

When Senator John Horhn campaigned outside of Food Depot during his third mayoral bid in 2017, he touted it as one of his achievements for the city. Horhn, a candidate in the upcoming mayoral race, had a major hand in getting the Food Depot on Northside Drive as well as a McDade’s in Westland Plaza.

“Back in 2005, Jackson experienced the closure of 13 Winn-Dixies, and overnight, [it] created a bunch of food deserts in our city,” said Horhn. “Working with a colleague, I was able to recruit two grocery stores back into areas that were deserts.”

But Food Depot on Northside fell victim to theft and problems with security, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes told WAPT in 2023. In May of that year, the grocery store closed. 

”Folks are very disappointed because in that part of the city of Northwest Jackson, there is a lack of opportunity for fresh fruits and vegetables and food that’s healthy for you,” Horhn told Mississippi Today. “People want the convenience of having food that they can purchase and consume nearby to where they live.”

Now, as he embarks on his fourth mayoral campaign, he said it’s important to get grocery stores back into communities around Jackson. He points to programs such as Hope Enterprise Corporation’s Mid South Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which offers financing for grocery stores in food deserts, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as potential partners in bringing fresh food to families.

“We’ve been able to attract grocery stores in the past. I think we can do it again,” he said. “I believe that there are incentives that are available. I think that we need to be aggressive about our attempts to get those resources so that we can subsidize it.”

But not all grocery stores are alike. Even when there are grocery stores within walking distance, residents find themselves heading to other neighborhoods to find better quality goods.

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Sheila O’Flaherty lives in the Jayne Avenue neighborhood in West Jackson, about a mile away from the Grocery Depot. She prefers to go to Kroger on Interstate 55 or the Save-A-Lot by the Jackson Medical Mall. Like one-in-five households in her area, O’Flaherty doesn’t own a car. To buy groceries, she’ll have to take a total of four buses per trip, turning what should be a quick trip to the store into an hours-long trek on public transportation. 

“I don’t think the groceries that we have access to here in Westland Plaza, specifically here in the neighborhood, are of the quality that you get in other places,” said O’Flaherty. “The produce is better at Save-A-Lot, and everything’s much better at Kroger.”

She said she wishes that there were more options for her that wouldn’t require her to travel the nearly 8 miles to Kroger. 

“I would love to have a grocery store here that I can walk to. I get what I can there, but there’s not much there. We just need better quality groceries in all sections of Jackson,” she said. 

Jesse Huffman agrees. He’s lived in West Jackson for more than 20 years. 

“Kroger has bad food, too. Don’t get me wrong. But I could buy a banana and it may last five days,” compared to the nearby Grocery Depot, Huffman said, where “it’ll last a day.”

Huffman frequently travels to neighboring Clinton to Kroger to buy groceries, which he said adds to his expenses in buying fuel for his car. 

“I’m not frustrated by staying in a community without a grocery store, but I would love to have one. If you don’t have a ride – I have a way to get there, but it costs me more gas to go to Clinton than to go right here.”

In an emailed statement, Joel Edwards, Chief Operating Officer for The Roberts Company, which owns Grocery Depot and other grocery stores in Jackson, said the store is “deeply committed to providing a full-service supermarket that is safe, clean, and stocked with fresh meat and produce—particularly in an area of Jackson that has limited access to such resources. 

“We take customer feedback very seriously and strive to address any concerns with urgency.” 

Edwards also said they’re upgrading the dairy and frozen food cases.

“This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a high-quality shopping experience for the community, both now and in the years to come,” Edwards said via email.

Food Depot on Northside Drive isn’t the only grocery store that’s closed in Jackson in recent years. Jackson Cash and Carry, another grocery store that Horhn championed for the city, closed in 2020. Now, Grocery Depot on Fortification Street, owned by The Roberts Company, is set to close, though no closure date has been set. 

With 13 grocery stores, Jackson is home to about one grocery store for every 11,000 of its residents, compared to nearby Clinton, which has one store for every 8,900 residents, or Bryam with one store per 4,200 people. 

Food insecurity, or the lack of access to enough healthy food options to meet a family’s needs, impacts nearly one in five people in Hinds county, where Jackson is located.

There are multiple factors that determine whether a community is food insecure, such as location of the nearest grocery store, access to transportation and food availability. It’s measured via a survey of families to determine their difficulty in finding food, such as if they couldn’t afford to buy more meals, or if they were worried about food running out and had to skip meals.

One in four children find themselves without access to food, especially during the summer when they don’t have school lunches to rely on. Organizations are working to keep children fed during the summer, with one offering families supplemental income to buy groceries. 

Mississippi declined to opt into the SUN bucks, or Summer EBT, program for the second year in a row, which would have provided families who qualify an extra $120 per child during the summer. A refusal to expand SUN bucks will leave an estimated 324,000 children across Mississippi without many options. 

Dr. Joseph C. Ewoodzie Jr. authored ‘Getting Something to Eat in Jackson,’ a book which examines how race and class factors into the Black food experience. He said that while food justice work is important, it’s key to present people with solutions that deal with poverty, not just food insecurity. 

“Sometimes when we think about helping folks, we’re trying to teach them how to cook. We’re trying to teach them how to shop properly at the grocery store. All of that is kind of misplaced energy,” said Ewoodzie. “What we need to be doing is trying to help them secure housing or trying to help them secure employment, and once we help them secure those things, they will have a larger bandwidth to consider food and how food matters in their lives.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.