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Arlington commissions urge clearer reproductive-health information, faster retrofitting of free menstrual-product dispensers and focus on childcare
Summary
The County’s Commission on the Status of Women and allied commissions told a county work session they want Arlington County to make reproductive-health resources easier to find, finish a $10,000 retrofit project to make menstrual-product dispensers free in county facilities and press employers on paid family leave and childcare access.
Barbara Johnson, representing the Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women, told county officials at a commissions work session that outreach and clearer information about reproductive-health services should be a budget priority for the coming year. She said surveys conducted at the county fair in 2022 and 2023 showed “women's health was by far number 1,” and that many participants named reproductive care and abortion access as top concerns.
Johnson said Arlington lacks a clinic that provides abortion services and that finding providers by searching online is difficult: “If I Google abortion in Arlington, what pops up is Planned Parenthood in DC,” she said, noting other providers in the Washington suburbs such as Whole Woman’s Health in Alexandria and an emerging facility in McLean. She urged the county to assemble and promote an up-to-date list of local providers and partner with nonprofits or youth groups to make information and emergency contraception more accessible.
The commission also urged the county to complete a previously approved $10,000 retrofit to make menstrual-product dispensers free in county facilities. Johnson said the retrofit work has been pushed to the fourth quarter and asked staff to “stay on top of that,” noting inflation has increased the cost of menstrual products.
On childcare and family-leave policy the commission reported survey results showing childcare was consistently among the top concerns. Johnson and other commission members asked the county to explore ways to incentivize private-sector employers to provide paid family leave and to consider childcare affordability when negotiating economic-development incentives with incoming businesses.
Several county officials and commissioners who responded thanked the Commission on the Status of Women for its outreach and said the board and staff would “wrestle with” the suggestions as part of the budget process.
Ending: The commission said it will continue outreach and provide the county with details from its survey and sticky-note feedback it collected at the county fair. It also invited board members to its Women of Vision event next week to discuss these priorities further.
