David Gray

U.S. political candidates are beginning to produce work and family policy positions in response to what most Americans feel -- that work and family balance is a major issue facing American families. Women in particular struggle with such balance and with achieving equality in the workplace. From the floors of Congress to the campaign trails Mandating paid parental leave has often been suggested as a possible solution to such struggles. But is this approach best for women as a whole?… more

Many churches are developing programs to serve young adults. Many are investing in young adult coordinators in order to help grow their church.

However, there is another reason for churches to focus on young adults -- the critical needs of the early young adult population in our nation.

The violence at Virginia Tech last April perpetrated by a disturbed young adult is a tragedy beyond belief. It calls attention to the challenges faced by an often overlooked age group.

While American society… more

One of the great fears that parents and church leaders have about their youth engaging in interfaith dialog is that they will lose their connection to their own religion and will end up rejecting and leaving their faith, maybe even converting to another religion as a result. My experience as a Christian pastor has been just the opposite -- I have watched young people become stronger in their own faith through exposure to other traditions.

Personal relationships matter a great deal… more

There is no greater problem facing America’s children than the epidemic of overweight and obesity. The Foundation for Child Development’s Child Well Being Index has concluded that the increase is obesity and overweight among children since 1975 has decreased the overall well being of children by more than 30%.

Researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a study this summer predicting that unless behaviors change, by 2015, 75%… more

There is an increase in national attention being paid to inequality in America. While U.S. government programs help the poor and politicians on both sides raise funds from the fortunate, the “Missing Class,” those making between $20,000 to $40,000 dollars a year for a family of four, is largely ignored.

Through their experiences with nine families, Princeton professor Katherine Newman and Inthefray magazine editor Victor Tan Chen trace the unique challenges faced by this growing demographic in their new… more

Americans know from their own lives the stress of balancing work and family obligations. Extensive rhetoric from the media and academic worlds is difficult to disentangle, sometimes pointing to seemingly different conclusions regarding the state of work and family balance, the time parents are spending with their children, and the impacts such conflicts have on individual and family health.

The New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program seek to cut through the rhetoric with… more

American families confront major challenges in balancing work and family life. Workers report that they would prefer fewer hours, while new technological capabilities require parents to bring more job responsibilities home with them. Mothers and fathers encounter strain in work and home environments alike. Polling and surveillance data confirm that the balance between work and family care needs attention. Some of the most quantifiable and severe costs of this burden on families are adverse health outcomes. This paper… more

DIMITRI SOTIS: WTOP news time 7:17. No matter what else changes, we all find a challenge in properly balancing our work and family lives. The folks at the New America Foundation are having a symposium on that next week and we’ll be telling you more about that in a moment.On the line now is David Gray, Director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation.SOTIS: … more

The New America Foundation’s Workforce and Family Program is launching a contest for high school seniors to provide their views on the best way to improve the lives of America’s young people.

Starting this fall in Washington D.C., New America will be offering $1,000 to the student who best answers the question, “You have just been elected the President of the United States. What is the most important thing you will do to improve the lives of America's children?"

“This… more

In a few days, Congress will return to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The program will pay for expanded coverage for children through an increase in cigarette taxes. The logic is to raise revenue while discouraging a behavior harmful to child health. Instead of a cigarette tax, however, Congress should address the health problem that research indicates is the greatest crisis facing America’s young people by taxing junk food instead.

The new epidemic facing American children… more