This is the first study to look at how Paid Family and Medical Leave policies can support positive childhood experiences. It’s an important step toward understanding how these policies help families build strong bonds and give children a healthier, more hopeful start in life.” -Dina Burstein, MD, MPH, Project Director of the HOPE National Resource Center
Innovative study looking into the effects of PFML policies on child health
BOSTON, MA, October 20, 2025 – The HOPE National Resource Center announced today that it has been awarded a $1.4 million, 3-year research grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to examine the effectiveness of Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) on the promotion of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The research study, in collaboration with partners at Boston University, will be led by Dina Burstein, MD, MPH, Project Director of the HOPE National Resource Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
“This is the first study to look at how Paid Family and Medical Leave policies can support positive childhood experiences,” says Dr. Burstein. “It’s an important step toward understanding how these policies help families build strong bonds and give children a healthier, more hopeful start in life.”
Connecting the dots: PFML, PCEs, ACEs, and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences
This research will be invaluable in understanding the impact of PMFL policies across many U.S. states on PCEs and ACEs. The study will explore three aims:
- Evaluate the impact of PFML on specific PCEs and ACEs outcomes, including relationships, and family resilience, abusive head trauma (AHT) hospitalization, maternal mental health, as well as racial/ethnic and socioeconomic gaps for each outcome.
- Evaluate the impact of individual PFML components on PCEs and ACEs, including benefit duration, progressive wage replacement, and job projection provision, as well as racial/ethnic and socioeconomic gaps for each outcome.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of PFML in promoting PCEs, preventing ACEs, and reducing racial-ethnic health gaps, in the context of other family-supportive policies offered by the state.
The study will compare 8 states (California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia) with PFML policies in place enacted by 2023 with 28 states without active or pending PFML policies, using publicly available data from the State Inpatient Databases, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, the National Survey of Children’s Health and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems.
Potential outcomes: Translating research into public health policy
Existing research shows that childhood experiences, both PCEs and ACEs, impact child development and adult health outcomes. PCEs lessen the lifelong effects of ACEs and are associated with lower rates of health risk behaviors and chronic conditions, as well as increased economic savings due to lower medical spending costs and additional healthy life years.
This research study is the first to broaden the knowledge of PCEs within the context of PMFL and other state-level family-supportive policies in multiple states. The study team, with expertise in health research, child abuse prevention, and policy analysis, intends to use the study results to help inform future public health policies and practices to increase PCEs and reduce ACEs.
About HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences
Based at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the HOPE National Resource Center sees a world that honors and promotes positive experiences as necessary for health and well-being. It aims to inspire a movement that changes how people and organizations advance health and well-being for children, families, and communities.
Robert Sege, MD, PHD, FAAP, Director of the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine at Tufts Medical Center and Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, leads the HOPE National Resource Center.
Inquiries: HOPE@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
