Gov. Doug Ducey pushes to expand childcare program for state agencies
Jan 12, 2017, 6:07 AM
PHOENIX — Everyday could soon be “Bring Your Baby To Work Day” for employees at Arizona agencies — at least when their child is first born.
Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed to expand a program to allow Arizona employees to bring their newborn children to work for the first six months.
The Infant at Work Program would allow both moms and dads to bring their newborn child to work for a six-month period, Ducey announced in his State of the State address Monday.
The results from the program, which started at the Arizona Department of Health Services, have been so impressive that Ducey is looking to expand it to all state agencies.
Ducey said that he pushed for the expansion because he doesn’t want parents to choose between having a career and having a family — and he doesn’t want them to feel as if their jobs are threatened if they decide to have a family.
“[Parents] want to take care of their kids, but they love their career as well,” he said. “We don’t want it where they have to make, necessarily, the choice for one or the other.”
Ducey said he understands that agencies also don’t want to lose productive employees when they decide to grow their families.
“When you’re ever in a position of leadership, the most important thing is you want to bring the best possible people onto your team,” Ducey said.
