Boulder County, Colo. --

The District Attorney’s Office is excited to share the success of our Extended Parental Leave for all staff. On January 1, 2023, the District Attorney launched a childcare leave enhancement to better support families and increase staff retention. The purpose of this Extended Parental Leave program was to enable an employee to care for, and bond with, a newborn or a newly adopted child. For over a year-and-a-half, that enhanced program has been successful.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, employees are entitled to twelve (12) weeks of leave following the birth of an employee’s child or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with adoption or foster care. Since January 2023, our office has been providing an additional twelve (12) weeks of parental leave after Family Medical Leave has been exhausted. That allows for a total of six (6) months of childcare leave for employees. It has been a success for our employees and our office.

Paralegal Claudia Villa stated, “Extended parental leave has given me peace of mind knowing I can do two things, bond with my baby while being with him during the most crucial time of his life and second, continue doing the work that I love and have worked so hard for. That is a blessing!”

Senior Deputy District Attorney Michelle Sudano stated, “The DA’s Office Extended Parental Leave policy allowed me to return to work when it made sense for my family. The office helped me prioritize extra invaluable time with my daughter and eased the transition back into the working world.”

District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “Extending parental leave was a goal of ours from the start, for two reasons. First, it is just the right thing to do. Families should have more time to build new lives and develop wonderful relationships. Second, it allows our office to better support and retain outstanding staff through great transitions in their lives. Supporting our staff is a top priority and allows this office to better serve this community.”