The New America Foundation is a non-partisan, centrist think tank in Washington, D.C., dedicated to bringing new voices, ideas and solutions to help tackle public problems. The Workforce and Family Program at New America seeks to contribute to the improvement of life for workers, families, and children in ways that support the economy and find common ground.

The American family, economy and social landscape have all undergone fundamental transformations within the last generation. To meet these challenges, in addition to focusing on Workplace Flexibility, we also have a Child Well-Being Project, a Workforce and Family Building Project and a Work and Life Balance Project. The Program conducts research, holds conferences and events and promotes solutions to pressing public problems.

The Workforce and Family Program brings staffers from both parties together with thought-leaders to develop legislative solutions to our nation's workforce and family challenges. The program highlights solutions through public events; policy papers; invited public speaking; dissemination of issue briefs and articles; and targeted outreach to top opinion leaders. In addition, the program hosts several high-profile events each year that provide a neutral meeting ground where a wide range of stakeholders in the field can deepen their knowledge of-and forge consensus around-new policy solutions that advance the interests of American families, workers and employers.

We see the Sloan-supported Workplace Flexibility 2010 project at Georgetown University Law Center as one of the most innovative projects to achieve change in the area of work and family that we have come across. So we jumped at the opportunity to become a Sloan initiative and partner of WF2010 to help them seek concensus-based progress.

We have been excited to work with presidential campaigns this year as they think through workplace flexibility policies. Thus far, three major candidates have developed signficant positions on these issues in the primaries and our hope and belief is that the nominees of both parties will adddress the issue. We are optimistic that in 2009 the next President will work towards enhancing the flexibility of American workplaces. We have looked to the faith based community as a new constituent to help impact change in this area of policy. We plan to hold a briefing on Capitol Hill next month that addresses issues of workplace flexibility and religion and two congresspeople from both sides of the aisle have agreed to cosponsor it. Our work supports WF2010 in several ways, mainly on Capitol Hill, in outreach to congressional offices and in planning and co-moderating/co-sponsoring briefings.

We are grateful to the Sloan Foundation and to WF2010 and are proud to be a part of the Sloan Network.