Carolyn Kagan: Connecticut paid leave 'not a luxury' and a form of prevention for maternal mental health

Carolyn Kagan, founder and executive director of the Alliance Center, said Connecticut paid leave gives parents ‘‘the gift of time’’ that can prevent or reduce perinatal mental-health problems. Kagan, a licensed clinical social worker and perinatal psychotherapist, spoke on the Paid Leave Podcast hosted by Nancy Barrow on March 8.

Kagan told listeners the Alliance Center offers individual therapy, group support, medication management and career coaching designed to help parents prepare for and return from leave. ‘‘Paid leave, as I always say now, it’s not a luxury. I think of it as a form of prevention,’’ she said, adding that income replacement allowed a staff member who delivered two months early to focus on recovery and her newborn.

The context matters: Kagan said perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can begin during pregnancy and persist long after birth if untreated, and that having both time and coordinated care reduces the risk of prolonged problems. She described in-house medication management and a prescriber on staff to avoid fragmented care, and said the Center’s team — largely women, she noted — provides peer and clinical supports that many new parents lack.

Kagan also described practical programming: postpartum planning in therapy (dividing household labor, anticipating warning signs), group support for isolation, and a career-coaching service launched after local focus groups. ‘‘We heard from over a 100 women in our community about what their needs were,’’ she said, explaining the coaching helps parents plan leaves and ease the transition back to work.

Kagan framed paid leave as both a family-health and workforce policy: employers retain staff who return feeling more whole, and families have time to bond and arrange care. She cited programs like Medicaid paid leave as complementary supports that expand access for families who otherwise could not afford time off.

The episode closes with a practical resource: Barrow directed listeners to ctpaidleave.org for benefit information and applications. The interview stops short of policy details such as benefit lengths or replacement rates; listeners seeking eligibility criteria or application steps should consult the official CT Paid Leave website.

— Nancy Barrow, host of the Paid Leave Podcast, conducted the interview on March 8; Carolyn Kagan appears as the Alliance Center’s founder and executive director.