Moms In ‘Survival Mode’ As U.S. Trails World On Benefits

Roxanne Vivanco just returned to her banking job in Ramsey, New Jersey, after spending 12 weeks with her newborn daughter without having to deplete her savings.

The 36-year-old community development manager at Toronto-Dominion Bank was able to tap a state-administered benefit that finances family leave through employee payroll contributions. “It was a blessing,” said the mother of three. The money “helped with taking care of our house bills as well as food for the newborn and my other kids.”

Vivanco considers herself fortunate in a nation where only 12 percent of workers get paid time off to care for a baby or a sick parent, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Rhode Island this month became the third state to start a paid family leave insurance program, which was initiated by California in 2004 and by New Jersey in 2009.

A bill introduced last month in Congress would create a similar model nationally. That would make more women eligible for a benefit usually offered in the U.S. only at large companies such as Bank of America Corp. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc.