is elizabeth newman and work place policy and legislative analyst for department on status of women. our director wishes she could be here today but wanted to come and speak in the charter amendment to enhance paid parental leave for city employees. we know the paid leave for sth care and bond wg a new chileds has tremendous benefits for the children and families. paid leave leads to healthier babies. according to the national institute of child health breast feeding reu results fewer infection, better survive decreased allergies. studies found there are fewer symptoms of depression with women who take leave than those who return to work before 12 weeks. paid parental leave increases women life time praijs by keeping mothers in the work force. we are very proud of san francisco for providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave however we know we can do better and there are 2 especially important reasons why the chairfcks to san franciscos paid leave program are so necessary and why the department on the status of women supports them. first providing each working 12 weeks of paid leave ca

elizabeth newman [inaudible] if dhr wishes to speak or anyone has questions we have staff here >> good afternoon supervisors. i am once again proud to be part of san francisco leading the way of the city and the country in this. i think in terms of early childhood we know the importance of the first few years of life with all that development and how it is so important to have a safe and nurching virementd for up to 3 year olds and paid parental leave is a policy that is important. a advocate for paid parental leave, we think 9 months would be a good time but i hope this is first step showing the country what we can do in the country for paid parental leave. i do want to say there are 2 other really important policies that may you will consider in terms of early childhood, home visiting and one and >> what is home visiting? >> having a health nurse or health worker visiting mothers and fathers when their babies are born and it shows a huge reduction in depression and infant/toddler development and it is one of the things that will be really important for us to do. we have some programs