LORI KARNY, Clinical social worker and director of Women Helping Women Services in Los Angeles

I think the idea of family leave is critical for working women, and whether the new initiative really addresses all the issues is not clear. They really need more options. From my position, with Women Helping Women, we hear from hundreds of women caught in a bind. And they have to make these horrendous choices. We need to be more creative in how (leave) is exercised. I am hoping that employers are able to work within a certain framework and that it will be mutually beneficial. My sense is that e mployers who work with their employees in a collaborative manner get more from their employees.