Hawaii Families Look To The Federal Spending Bill To Keep Them Afloat … Despite Hawaii’s Democratic leadership, the state does not offer paid medical and family leave. Some hope Biden’s bill could change that.
Lingie Chiu, a pediatrician in Hawaii, sees a lot of families struggle when their children are hospitalized.
There’s the parent’s emotional burden of not knowing what will happen, and the anxiety of children who may not understand what’s going on. But there’s another element too — the fact that many parents can’t afford to stay with their kids in the hospital.
Chiu has sometimes had to tell parents that they can’t leave their children alone. Those are difficult conversations, Chiu says, where parents often cry knowing that they can’t afford to miss work.
Sometimes, even if the hospitalization only lasts a few weeks, parents will be forced to quit work to take care of their kids. That’s one reason why Chiu is hopeful the Senate will approve President Joe Biden’s proposed paid family and medical leave plan, part of a bigger social spending bill that he’s trying to get through Congress.
