Brain, Child (& Brain, Teen) are moving

Posted on January 29, 2019 by CNF • Posted in General, Highlights, Slider Content • Tagged creative nonfiction, news • Leave a comment

Dear Friend of Brain, Child,

I’m writing today with some exciting news. After six years of editing and publishing Brain, Child and Brain, Teen I am pleased to announce that both magazines are now under the Creative Nonfiction umbrella.

This is an exciting opportunity for the Brain, Child brands to continue to make an impact within an esteemed literary organization. I’m also pleased to announce that I’ve joined Creative Nonfiction’s Editorial Advisory Board.

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation inspires and supports writers of true stories by providing publishing venues and educational opportunities for a diverse range of creative nonfiction writing and writers–and is most notable for the long-running and always excellent quarterly magazine, Creative Nonfiction.

The CNF team has already begun the process of transferring the Brain, Child website to their server (I apologize for the recent downtime of this site), and the magazines’ archives will be available on Creative Nonfiction’s website in the near future.

More exciting news and information about what this acquisition means for writers, readers, and fans of both Brain, Child and Creative Nonfiction will be forthcoming this spring.

To stay up to date, please sign up for Creative Nonfiction’s email list.

As always, thank you for your support of Brain, Child. It’s been my honor.

Marcelle Soviero
Editor-in-Chief

P.S. If you have any questions, please direct them to the folks at Creative Nonfiction (information@creativenonfiction.org).

Policy Update: April 24, 2015

Posted on April 24, 2015 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged families, news, policy, Valerie Young, Washington, women • Leave a comment

A quick look back at events this week impacting women and families, from Valerie Young, a public policy analyst with Mom-mentum.

Happy Friday – the weekend is here, and so is the rundown on family policy news.

It’s Women’s Health Week. Don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of everybody else. A quick checklist from the US Office of Women’s Health will keep you on track.

New data keep coming about the importance of the earliest years in brain development, and how intelligent policies can support families with young children and really pay off when they become adults. Nick Kristof takes a look in this New York Times article.

The campaign to get a woman on the $20 bill is gaining steam, and four finalists have been selected. Send in your vote for Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Wilma Mankiller, or Rosa Parks right here. My fave, Shirley Chisholm, sadly didn’t make the cut.

The US Breastfeeding Committee has released state fact sheets. The benefits are legion, but it can be complicated by personal factors and a lack of support. Practically every state has a coalition if you need resources. Find your fact sheet through this page.

Following last week’s White House push for pro-family policies, the President reminds us that nothing will get better unless we go public with our stories and insist on solutions. There is just no substitute for sharing stories and coming together around common frustrations. You have a role to play – don’t sit on the sidelines for yourself and your family.

Image courtesy of Women on 20s

Follow Valerie on Facebook (Your (Wo)Man in Washington) and Twitter (@WomanInDC) and find her on the blog at Mom-mentum.

Policy Update: February 27 2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged news, policy, Valerie Young • Leave a comment

A quick look back at events this week impacting women and families, from Valerie Young, a public policy analyst with Mom-mentum.

The Hill was buzzing with discussion about families and the mismatch between the way we live and work now versus our policies that reflect another era altogether. Senator Patty Murray and US Representative Tulsi Gabbard took turns at the microphone during a congressional briefing on women’s health and economic security this week. Hosted by the National Partnership for Women & Families, the legislators spoke to a packed crowd about the urgent need for paid leave, closing the pay gap between men and women, protecting pregnant workers on the job, providing a tax credit for second earners (usually mothers, working around their care obligations) and access to reproductive health care like contraception.

Brigid Schulte wrote in the Washington Post about the part-time workforce and the lack of any paid time off, in spite of an overwhelming need. Most of the part-time workforce is female, and many resort to part-time work so that they can provide care to children or dependent adult family members. However, paid time off for illness or emergency is not available to the vast majority of part-timers.

Make sure to take 4 minutes and watch this great video from the Make It Work campaign – parents rock, in spite of ridiculously and unnecessary obstacles. I promise – you’ll love it!

Follow Valerie on Facebook (Your (Wo)Man in Washington) and Twitter (@WomanInDC) and find her on the blog at Mom-mentum.

Photo: The Washington Post: (The Image Bank/Getty Images)

Sunday News Update: September 28, 2014

Posted on September 28, 2014 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged Emily Watson, Mom-mentum, NAMC, news, public policy, Valerie Young, women and policy • Leave a comment

Welcome to Brain, Child’s Sunday policy update where we look at issues impacting women and children with Valerie Young, Public Policy Analyst for Mom-mentum formerly National Association of Mothers’ Centers.

With mid-term elections now on the horizon, the members of Congress have scampered home to look after their seats. Your (Wo)Man in Washington is still at her post, however, and sends us this summary of weekly highlights.

We haven’t seen this before – the US Department of Labor is promoting paid leave with this video, comparing Germany’s 14 weeks of maternity leave to the US’s 0 weeks. Because a national standard is such a heavy lift in this country, the DOL’s Women’s Bureau is also channeling big money to 3 states and the District of Columbia to fund feasibility studies for state-wide paid leave programs. Labor Secretary Tom Perez says “We need to do more to give people the tools to be responsible employees and good caregivers, so they don’t have to choose between the families they love and the jobs and economic security they need.” It’s a start.

Are women’s magazine waking up? (We know Brain, Child has always been awake: ) See what you make of some of these issues covered in mainstream women’s magazines this week: Elle just posted Why Women’s Role in Politics Is More Important Than Ever. Glamour has come out with Motherhood, Penalty Begone and Vanity Fair invites you to Watch Emma Watson Deliver a Game-Changing Speech on Feminism at the U.N. Maybe there IS more to life than a model search of Fall’s “must have” accessories.

There may be more to the pay gap than what happens at work. In fact, the disparity may start much, much earlier, according to the New York Times Motherlode blog, and parents could be implicated. “While it’s true that plenty of discrimination exists in the workplace, the way we rear our daughters probably contributes something to the persistent wage gap that exists among adults.” Something to think about.

Follow Valerie on Facebook at Your (Wo)Man in Washington, and on Twitter @WomanInDC. Valerie went to a feminist conference in New York City last weekend. See her thoughts at Mom-mentum’s Your Woman in Washington blog.

Sunday News Update: August 10, 2014

Posted on August 10, 2014 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged NAMC, National Association of Mothers Centers, news, politics, The Hill, Valerie Young • Leave a comment

By Valerie Young

Welcome to Brain, Child’s Sunday wrap up of policy issues impacting women and children with Valerie Young of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers.

Think we are gaining ground in the effort to remove the barriers between motherhood and equitable treatment at work? Bad news: The Wage Penalty For Becoming A Mother Is The Same Now As It Was In 1977.

“According to a new report from the Council on Contemporary Families, since 2006, more people have been letting go of traditional attitudes toward gender roles—where the mom is expected to stay home while the dad works—and are viewing moms who work outside the home and participate in politics more favorably.” Now if we could turn that approval into some paid family leave, so that all working people can deal with life’s normal complications and support their families financially too, we’d be golden.

Who takes the big hit for having kids? Moms do, according to US News & World Report, because the way we do work in this country makes it an all or nothing proposition. “Professional women often end up opting out because it simply feels impossible to take care of both family and work responsibilities,” Lovejoy says. “The decision was often unexpected and unplanned,” she explains. When Stone and Lovejoy followed up on these opt-out women 10 years later, they found two-thirds of the women had returned to work, but to different types of work that offered greater flexibility – and lower pay.”

State legislators in New Jersey can’t deliver paid sick days – so advocates will make it happen city by city. Organizers are collecting signatures to get the issue on the ballot in November, according to the New York Times.

Valerie Young writes about news at the intersection of motherhood and public policy. Follow her on Facebook at Your (Wo)Man in Washington, and on Twitter @WomanInDC, and find a weekly blog post at WomanInWashington.org.

Sunday News Update: September 7, 2014

Posted on August 3, 2014 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged news, policy, The Hill, Valerie Young, women's issues • Leave a comment

Welcome to Brain, Child’s Sunday policy update where we look at issues impacting women and children with Valerie Young, Public Policy Analyst for Mom-mentum (Formerly known as NAMC) National Association of Mothers’ Centers.

It’s back to school and back to work in the nation’s Capital. With the mid-term elections coming in November, no one expects much to be going on even though Congress is back in session. However, notable events are occurring elsewhere.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is languishing in the US Congress, but the states are having more success protecting pregnant women at work. Illinois has passed a pregnancy workplace protection law that will go into effect next January. New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia also recently passed similar bills. Their aim is to keep pregnant women on the job as long as possible, and prevent employers from forcing them onto unpaid leave or firing them unnecessarily.

California has become only the second state in the Union to pass a paid sick days bill, which should bring some relief to the 44% of its workforce with not a single paid sick day. Now employers are required to offer at least 3 paid sick days per year to all workers, except those direct care workers who tend to the elderly and disabled in their homes. They are not covered by the bill.

Gender always makes a difference…..and it’s a big one in terms of who cares for elderly parents more, sons or daughters. “Women spend as much time as they can caring for their elderly parents, while men do as little as they can, according to a new study” reported by Think Progress.

I see tired women….in this series of charts from the US Department of Labor about the employment of moms and dads according to income, age of children, job sector, and family status. In every category, the majority of mothers are employed, as are the majority of fathers. Whether single or married, America’s parents are tapped out, and when moms come home they are still working, they just don’t get paid for it. How similar, or different, is your situation from most of Americans? Check ’em out.

Follow Valerie on Facebook at Your (Wo)Man in Washington, and on Twitter @WomanInDC, and find a weekly blog post at WomanInWashington.org.

Sunday Night News Update: July 27, 2014

Posted on July 27, 2014 by CNF • Posted in General • Tagged mothers, NAMC, National Association of Mothers Centers, news, politics, Valerie Young, women in policy • Leave a comment

Welcome to Brain, Child’s Sunday night news update where we look at policy issues impacting women and children with Valerie Young of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers.

With Congress half out the door on the way to their August vacation, two bills were dropped in the hopper that could make life better for moms. The Schedules That Work Act would require employers of part-time workers to give more notice of shift schedules and assignments so that workers could plan accordingly. Much of the part-time workforce is mothers, as noted by Senator Elizabeth Warren in this article from The Guardian: “A single mom working two jobs should know if her hours are being canceled before she arranges for daycare and drives halfway across town to show up at work…This is about some basic fairness in work scheduling so that both employees and employers have more certainty and can get the job done.” Amen, sister!

Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Senator Angus King of Maine get a cheer for introducing a bill that would give a tax credit to employers offering at least four weeks of paid family leave. It’s called the Strong Families Act, and will likely go nowhere with the recess coming up and the mid-term elections getting all the attention once our do-nothing Congress reconvenes in September. But it is an effort to deal with the fact that ONLY the US has no guaranteed paid time off for maternity or paternity leave. In the 21st century. With women half the labor force. Sheesh.

Most states have some sort of laws on the books protecting pregnant or breastfeeding workers. Does yours? Here is a handy resource from your friends US Department of Labor. Just click on your state on the map and see what rights you have. Pregnancy discrimination runs rampant, and employers often fail to provide new moms what’s required, because we aren’t aware of and don’t ask for what the law allows. Don’t suffer endlessly. Know your rights.

Some parting thoughts on issues that often concern women with children who work – How do I tell my boss I’m Pregnant? Not an endorsement, just one person’s experience, from GoGirl Finance, as well as a series of articles on negotiating your salary, and three important tips to keep in mind when discussing your worth, from the same site.