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TYLER — More than a dozen infants have “retired” from Tyler city government since 2021.
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The infants’ contributions to the city are celebrated with a retirement party and special recognition from the mayor and city council when they leave. Many return in the months or years that follow to visit their favorite coworkers.
The city established the program “Infants at Work” in 2021 at a time when the leaders were implementing new strategies to support local families.
City employees who become new parents are allowed to bring their newborns to work for six to nine months. The goal is to help new parents, but especially new mothers, navigate those first few months of a child’s life without sacrificing their careers, said Regina Moss, the director of organizational development.
It also provides an alternative to a formalized maternity leave program, which Moss said the city cannot afford. Most expecting mothers save up their paid time off to use as maternity leave, or they may rely upon the Family and Medical Leave Act, which is unpaid leave.
“We’re trying to give them the tools so that they don’t feel like they have to sacrifice their career or their family,” Moss said. “We want to see how we can integrate them and support them through the process of starting a family or adding to their family.”
The first year in a child’s life is difficult and crucial. Parents are building a foundation of trust with their child while also establishing routines and skills that will carry the child into toddlerhood. Many moms try to establish breastfeeding, which can be complicated and difficult especially when work schedules get in the way.
The U.S. is far behind its counterparts across the world in establishing government-mandated paid leave, according to the Pew Research Center in 2019. Countries like Estonia, Japan, Germany, Croatia, Chile and more have more than 20 weeks of government-mandated parental leave. The U.S. does not require any leave at all.
Some states, such as California, New Jersey and New York have mandated paid leave. But Texas has not adopted a similar expectation. In 2023 a type of leave was created in Texas that allowed businesses to pay into it like they would for an insurance program, but it is completely voluntary and going unused, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Moss recognized that strict work schedules, a lack of support, unaffordable child care, low pay and burnout have contributed to women leaving the workforce after giving birth. In fact, in 2024, these issues led nearlyhalf a million women to leave the workforce across the country, according to a2026 Catalyst Survey.
The program meant the world to Samantha Gary, who had two children “retire” from Infants at Work and go on successfully into child care. She had reservations about sending her newborns into a child care setting, especially because of the cost and availability, and the potential impact on her ability to breastfeed.
In the months leading up to giving birth to Lucca, Gary’s son, now 3, the city made a clean and comfortable place for her to breastfeed during the day. And Gary’s teammates pulled together to outfit their office with baby gear.
“Knowing I worked for an organization that valued working mothers and was trying to make accommodations so I could come back sooner allowed me to feel seen,” Gary said. “I knew I could succeed in my professional career as well as my personal life.”
The program allowed Gary to traipse through the woods on city business for Tyler with a baby strapped to her chest. She is a liaison between the city, contractors and the Environmental Protection Agency. And while most of her days are spent in an office — at which one of her children could be found doing tummy time or napping in a pack-n-play — she often lugged them along on her trips into the field.
To qualify for the program, she had to have a role where it made sense to bring a baby in, and she had to have a team ready to step in and watch her child if she couldn’t take them into a meeting.
“The baby really just becomes a part of the department,” Moss said. “They have work grandmas and grandpas and uncles that are delighted to have them around. It really improves morale.”
The program won an award from the Texas Municipal League. And Moss said representatives of other cities have reached out, asking for advice on how to replicate it in their hometowns. That includes Pampa, which launched its program called “Babies at Work” in 2023.
Disclosure: Texas Municipal League has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.