Oklahoma Mom Petitions For Paid Family Leave To Trump, Clinton

Ali Dodd’s son was 11 weeks and 5 days old. She was only back at work for a week when Shepard died at daycare.

“His death was 100 percent preventable and that is the guilt that I will have to carry the rest of my life,” said Dodd, “I had waited 4 years to have Shepard. I had 3 miscarriages before him.”

After 11 weeks of leave, she had no choice but to go back to work, leaving her newborn at an in-home daycare. The daycare worker put him in a car seat to sleep. Shepard slipped down and suffocated. He was too young to lift up his head.

“We know that the highest incident of infant death happens between week 8 and week 16,” said Dodd.

She has been on a mission since, creating Shepard’s Law in Oklahoma to bring clear regulations to in-home day cares. She is now working on a new challenge.

She and another mom in Brooklyn created a petition on Change.org calling for paid family leave. Dodd said 16 weeks is the minimum that should be given to families.

Together, they have collected more than 135,000 signatures on the petition.

On Tuesday, they went to the campaign offices of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in New York to deliver the petition. Their goal is to get the presidential candidates to take action within the first 100 days of being elected, whoever it may be.

According to Dodd, 1 in 4 women go back to work 2 weeks after giving birth. She said 87 percent of parents have no paid leave through their employers.

Dodd believes that changing the rules of paid parental leave will change fate for many families across the country.

She said, “Obviously my story is not everyone’s, but if Shepard had been home with me that day, I know that I would still have my son.”

Dodd said it is not too late to sign the petition. She is also urging Oklahomans to contact their local senators to fight for paid family leave in the state.