It was then that Present, a 40-year-old mom from Evanston, Ill., decided something had to be done.

"I started thinking this whole navigating thing is really tough," she recalls. "These are not just my struggles-other parents are experiencing this, too. But parents tend to think it's something they have to figure out on their own. I believe that if we all come together, we can start demanding support from society. We can have an impact."

Present began searching for parent groups in her area that were working on changing the status quo for families. But she found nothing. So in late 2000, while still working part-time as a senior policy associate for the Chicago Jobs Council, a non-profit employment advocacy organization, Present decided to form her own state-wide, grass-roots parent advocacy group. She called it ParentsWork.

As part of her job, Present served as a member of a coalition lobbying for a paid family and medical leave law in Illinois-similar to one that went into effect last summer in California. That fall, state legislators held hearings on the issue, and Present worked on getting parents to testify about the hardships they'd suffered. Moved by the stories she heard, she decided that paid family leave would be ParentsWork's first crusade.

Her goal: to get parents involved in pushing for a state law that would allow workers to take a partially paid leave of up to 12 weeks to care for a new baby or an ill family member. Although the federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, it doesn't go far enough. It applies only to those in companies with 50 or more employees-just 62 percent of all workers. And three-quarters of those who qualify can't take advantage of the law because they can't afford to go without a paycheck.

"If we're going to show that we value families, then paid leave is the first step," says Present, who was lucky enough to get a four-month partially paid maternity leave at her previous job. "It's essential to have the ability to take care of yourself and your family."

Wherever Present Went, Parents Had a Story

While Present searched for parents who would testify about paid leave, she also took every opportunity to spread the word about ParentsWork. Wherever she went, it seemed, someone had a story.

At her daughter's preschool, Present met a woman who told her about having to return to work in just three weeks following the birth of her first two children-not because she wasn't covered under the FMLA, but because she couldn't afford to take any more time off. Present convinced her to testify.

One day she ran into a former work colleague at a local bakery who told her he and his wife had just adopted a baby. He said he'd had to negotiate his own paltry paternity leave with his boss, since the company had no policy. He used two weeks of vacation and took another four weeks, half of it unpaid. At Present's urging, he met with state legislators to discuss the importance of paid leave to families.

By November of 2001, Present was having yet another work/family dilemma: how to fit this all-consuming new project into her life. "I realized I couldn't continue working for the Jobs Council, start a grass-roots organization and be available to my child all at the same time," she says. So she left the Jobs Council, and started devoting her work hours to ParentsWork.

Much of the following year was spent writing grant proposals, recruiting people to be on her advisory board, and giving talks to various groups on paid leave and ParentsWork.

Last year, parents began contacting Present after seeing her profiled in a Chicago parent magazine. She also appeared on a public affairs program broadcast by a Chicago television station. So far, 200 Chicago-area parents have either volunteered their time or donated money to ParentsWork, Present says.

In pursuing her dream, Present had to make financial sacrifices of her own. During the three years she has worked on ParentsWork, she has never taken a salary. The combination of the loss of income from her previous job and her husband's career switch from advertising executive to college professor has left them with no ability to save. At one point, they were without health insurance and had to pay $1,000 out-of-pocket each month for Jorie's asthma medicine. Her husband has taken on extra consulting work, they sold their second car and have put off repairs to their condo.

But she hopes one day to turn her mission into her livelihood. A fundraiser last April led to a small foundation grant. She'll be launching a website and a newsletter soon, and, after several failed attempts over the years, she's optimistic that a paid family and medical leave law in Illinois will soon be a reality.

An Illinois state representative recently agreed to sponsor a bill calling for up to four weeks partially paid family leave. It was introduced in March. Although business groups have fought the proposal, last year the manufacturers' and retail associations agreed to participate in talks for the first time.

Present can't help being encouraged. "I know it will happen," she says. "It's just going to take time."

For more information on ParentsWork, send an email to info@parentswork.org.

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