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Work-life imbalance is a problem that has personal, national, and religious implications. Millions of Americans sense that they are rushing through life and that their work and non-work lives compete with one another.  Clergy and lay leaders are struggling with overwork.  Church members are looking for help. Practicing Balance demonstrates why congregational leaders should take work-life imbalance seriously. The issue gets in the way of spiritual development, church attendance, and member involvement.

Mitt Romney knows he has to do better in attracting women voters. After controversial comments by GOP leaders about contraception and Planned Parenthood during the heat of the primary season, polls show that Mr. Romney’s standing among women has been impacted and that he trails President Obama in critical swing states with female voters by a 2 to 1 margin (according to a a recent USA Today/Gallup survey).

Last month Joan Lombardi, a nationally-recognized early childhood researcher, retired from the Administration of Children and Families (ACF), the section of the federal Department of Health and Human Services that deals with Head Start and child care programs. Lombardi had served as deputy assistant secretary and inter-departmental liaison for early childhood development since 2009.

"People are working in different ways," says David Gray, director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. "I do a lot of work in the evenings," says Gray, the father of four under age 5, ...

Could the 2012 presidential election be a repeat of the 1980 or 1888 election?

President Obama is enduring his worse political season with a series of challenging poll numbers. His unfavorable rating is at an all-time high. In head-to-head poll comparisons, he now is behind major GOP contenders.

In this podcast, New America's David Gray talks with Netsy Firestein, founder and director of the Labor Project for Working Families. Firestein reflects on the six-year-old California policy for extended leave time, as well as on San Francisco's paid leave for sick days (which, among other employees, ensures that child care staff members can avoid having to come into work while sick) and another California law that enables parents to take up to 40 hours of unpaid time off to attend school activities.

In this podcast, New America's David Gray talks with Kate Karpilow, executive director of the California Center for Research on Women and Families, who says the California's program on extended time off has thrived despite the initial concerns that it would hurt the business community. One reason may be that the program is paid for through the state's disabilities fund and therefore does not require businesses to write paychecks to employees on leave. "The sky-is-falling scenarios didn't pan out," she says.

This week Americans honor their fathers on Father's Day. This is a particularly important Father's Day because it's the 100th anniversary of the celebration. It is said that Father's Day began in 1910 in response to Mother's Day. Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in church. Dodd's mother had died during childbirth, and she and her five siblings were raised by her father. Dodd thought there should be a holiday to recognize the important contributions of fathers.

Bedford, N.Y. and Washington, D.C. -- Daniel Robbins, a graduating senior of Fox Lane High School in Bedford, NY, was named first place winner of the New America Foundation's Improving the Lives of Children Essay Contest.

At the announcement ceremony today, Daniel Robbins received a $2,500 prize for college. Congressman John J. Hall, from the 19th Congressional District in New York, presented the check.

This year's winner was selected from more than 3,400 entrants, from high schools in every state in the country.

Twenty-five students were named semifinalists of the New America Foundation's Improving the Lives of Children Essay Contest today. 

This year's semifinalists were selected from more than 3,400 entrants, from high schools in every state. By state, the semifinalists broke out to 1 Arkansas; 1 Arizona; 1 California; 1 Colorado; 1 Illinois; 2 Michigan; 1 Minnesota; 1 Mississippi; 1 North Carolina; 1 New Jersey; 3 New York; 1 Ohio; 3 Pennsylvania; 1 Tennessee; 3 Texas; 1 Utah; 1 Washington.

The problem is this -- America's "social contract" has gotten wildly out of balance, says Phillip Longman, senior fellow at the New America Foundation think tank...

The next generation is already "highly encumbered by poverty, family break-up, a rising national debt," Mr. Longman and David Gray write in their November report, "A Family-Based Social Contract."