The Hottest Family Issues

* Family and medical leave. Twice vetoed by President Bush, this legislation would require businesses to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to workers to care for newborns, newly adopted children or family members who are ill. The cost would be borne by employers.

* Parents as teachers. This proposal, already approved by the House as part of a Neighborhood Schools Improvement bill, would establish a grant program for states to develop and expand parent and early childhood education programs. The cost would be $20 million a year.

* Kidsnet. This proposal would fully fund three existing federal programs: the Head Start preschool program for disadvantaged youngsters, the Women, Infants and Children supplemental food program and the childhood immunization program. The estimated cost would be $9.8 billion over four years.

* Family Preservation Act. This measure includes programs that would improve child welfare services, substance abuse programs and foster care and adoption assistance. It would fund projects designed to strengthen the family unit. The cost is uncertain, but is expected to reach several billion dollars over five years.

* Safe Children and Communities Act. This would provide grants to community-based organizations working with local health, education, social services and law enforcement agencies in neighborhoods with high rates of violence to promote programs to provide a safer environment for families and children. Its estimated cost is $50 million a year.

* Urban aid and tax relief. Recently vetoed by Bush, this measure contains proposed reforms of existing programs that deal with neglected and abused children.

In addition, the major recommendations of the bipartisan National Commission on Children are likely to surface again. They include a proposed $1,000 per child tax credit for all families with children under age 18, regardless of income, and universal health insurance coverage for all children and pregnant women to be provided jointly by the federal government and employers.