Description: Public policy efforts to strengthen the early care and education system in the US could benefit by placing greater emphasis on the role that working parents can play. One policy advance that would reduce pressure on the early child care market is to expand support for employees caring for their newborns at home. Paid parental leave takes many forms. Leave policies can be enacted by state legislatures through insurance-type programs such as Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) or Family Care Insurance (FCI), or employers can create their own plans to meet their workers’ needs. The first table lists a variety of paid parental leave models and benefits employers can implement. Of the companies selected in 2008, 100 percent offer paid maternity leave, 75 percent offer paid paternity leave, and 81 percent offer paid adoption leave to employees with one year of service. The second table features large companies across the US that provide commendable leave programs. Other companies featured by Working Mother can be found on their website.