Moms First launches PaidLeave.ai to help parents in New York access paid family leave

The first of its kind pilot, developed in partnership with Craig Newmark Philanthropies and Novy.ai, with early support from OpenAI, uses generative AI to help parents get paid leave benefits to care for their families

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Moms First, a national non-profit fighting for the structural supports moms need to thrive, launched PaidLeave.ai, a first of its kind pilot to help parents in New York state access and apply for paid family leave benefits. Developed in partnership with Craig Newmark Philanthropies and Novy.ai with early support and advice from OpenAI, PaidLeave.ai utilizes generative AI to ease the burden of applying for and accessing paid family leave for families in New York state, increasing families' economic stability and building a movement of parent advocates primed to support the future passage of federal paid family leave.

"One in four new mothers goes back to work within two weeks of giving birth and more than 90% of Americans who are low-income don't have a single day of paid leave. That is unconscionable," said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First. "At Moms First, we are on a mission to win paid leave and affordable child care for as many moms in as many places as possible. But if we are going to win these fights, we need to do things differently — we need to innovate, we need to utilize generative AI."

Saujani: "At a time when parents desperately need support, benefits like paid leave are challenging to access. If you're fortunate enough to live in one of the handful of states, like New York, where paid leave is offered, you still need to jump through hoops, navigate insurance paperwork, and decipher convoluted websites to access your benefits. PaidLeave.ai simplifies the process. It tells parents whether they are eligible, how much money they can put in their pockets, and gives them an action plan to get their benefits. Moms First is proud to launch this solution to help more parents in New York get paid family leave — making the process easy to navigate and understand. At the same time, by introducing AI tools to our growing community of over one million moms, we can begin to close the gender gap in AI usage and adoption. AI will increase access to benefits, especially for the most vulnerable among us. PaidLeave.ai is exactly the type of revolutionary public sector solution that our country needs if we want to truly build a system of care that puts moms first." 

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia currently offer statewide paid family leave benefits, but paid leave at the state level is underutilized. Parents and caregivers who are eligible to receive benefits often lack awareness of those benefits and struggle to navigate the paperwork and administrative burden that comes with accessing them.

"PaidLeave.ai is harnessing the power of innovation to help millions of New York families access vital paid family leave benefits. For far too long, families have been put in the impossible position of choosing between a day's pay and caring for a loved one, which is why I signed transformative legislation to expand our nation-leading paid family leave program to cover care for siblings. This tool will help to put these benefits within reach for even more New Yorkers, and I look forward to a continued partnership with organizations like Moms First on our work to strengthen New York families," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

PaidLeave.ai was built by Moms First in partnership with Novy.ai and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and with early technical advice and support from OpenAI. Powered by OpenAI's GPT-4, PaidLeave.ai has trained a large language model (LLM) model with a vast number of resources from New York State's Paid Family Leave website as well as comprehensive FMLA and disability forms to fully understand all of the nuances and make it easy for all parents to complete. PaidLeave.ai prioritizes confidentiality and privacy when answering detailed questions about individual circumstances, providing helpful resources along the way. Using a human-like voice, the AI helps parents maximize their benefits and provides them with a clear action plan to complete and submit their claim.

"PaidLeave.ai is a powerful model for how generative AI can change the way we approach customer service for good. This is a big step forward in helping people more easily access the benefits they need to care for their families," said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. "I've spent 40 years of my career working in customer service and the main thing I've learned is to treat people the way you want to be treated. This application of generative AI shows that if you act in good faith and commit to providing good customer service everywhere, then customer service can begin to meet real social needs and actually help families who need it most."

"At Novy.ai, we care deeply about finding new solutions to public problems, modernizing organizations for the AI era, and helping to increase access to technology — it's part of our ethos," said Elias Torres, Founder and CEO of Novy.ai. "We are proud to deliver this pioneering solution for parents in New York state. After decades of working with for-profit businesses, it is refreshing and inspiring to work with Reshma and the Moms First team to bring their vision to life and ensure that parents have everything they need to access the benefits they deserve and feel confident along the way."

"PaidLeave.ai is a clear, high-impact example of how AI can help deliver public good," said Julie Samuels, President & Executive Director of Tech:NYC. "As a working mother, I understand the urgent need for structural support for families, and there is no denying that technology can play an important role in increasing access to paid family leave benefits — resources too many households don't know they're already eligible for. We are proud to see Moms First leading the way in harnessing tech to make life easier for all New York families."

Allowing more parents in New York to access paid leave is a critical step toward addressing deeply-rooted gender inequality — an issue that is exacerbated by women's slow adoption of AI in the workplace. Only 35% of women are using generative AI tools like ChatGPT in their jobs, compared to 48% of men, hurting women's earning potential and worsening the gender pay gap in our country. OpenAI's technology makes PaidLeave.ai easy-to-use and has the potential to increase trust in AI among New York parents while ensuring they can access the critical paid family leave benefits they need to care for their families.

About Moms First
Moms First is a national, non-profit organization transforming our workplaces and culture to enable moms in America to thrive. Our grassroots movement of more than one million moms and supporters is dedicated to advancing women's economic freedom, uplifting the vital work of moms in our society, and building the power to win the public and private sector investments moms need and deserve, including child care, paid leave, and equal pay.

CONTACT: [email protected] 

SOURCE Moms First