Adoption Help Benefits – Help employees with assistance
Adoption rates have grown considerably in the last ten years. Building a family unconnected by biology was once thought to be an option only for couples unable to bear children; interest in adoption has since broadened. Adoptive parents now include single people, and couples with and without children. However, family leave policies have not changed at the same pace.
Just like birth parents, adoptive parents can benefit from leave policies that allow them time off from work to be with their new arrival. The idea has been somewhat difficult to catch on as employers have typically thought of maternity leave primarily in terms of the physical limitations it places with advanced pregnancy and birth recovery. Adoptive parents do not need time for recovery, but they may need time for:
- Travel if they are adopting internationally
- Court appearances to finalize the adoption
- Home studies and adoption preparation classes
- Getting the required forms, such as immunization records and social security cards, for school enrollment
- Evaluations if the child has special needs
- Occupational therapy or other rehabilitative services
- Counseling to help with the transition
- Registering school-age children for classes
- Bonding and relationship building with their “new addition”
Adoptive parents may also need financial assistance to offset expenses such as court costs or travel. The average amount provided by companies offering this benefit is $2,000.00, with a few providing as much as $6,000.00. Adoption assistance can come in many forms including:
- A lump sum payment regardless of adoption related expenses
- Reimbursement of allowable adoption expenses (including, travel, court costs, hospital fees for the birth mother, and counseling)
- Only after the adoption has been finalized
- During the transitional placement (period when children visit the home to facilitate a smooth transition)
Companies currently offering adoption assistance determine if and how much to provide based on the length of employment and the status of the employee (full-time, regular, permanent, etc.). Generally, some combination of paid, unpaid leave and financial assistance is provided. Stipends related to adoption expenses are considered income and subject to federal taxes.
Why provide adoption assistance?
Adoption assistance helps families and their communities
Many adopted children are “hard to place,” i.e. older, have special needs or are part of a sibling group. These children often spend a number of years in foster care or group homes. Adoption assistance, such as time and money, helps adoptive parents better meet the needs of their adoptive children. Additionally, adoption assistance encourages those deterred by cost to consider adding to their families by adoption. When employees adopt, these children move from temporary foster or group homes into permanent family settings.
Providing adoption assistance (paid or unpaid leave and financial help) creates goodwill among employees.
Adoption assistance on par with maternity/paternity leave policies fosters a sense of fairness and equality among employees. Providing the benefit also creates goodwill in the community by showing employers to be:
- Sensitive to the needs of employees
- Aware that adoption is a valid and good way of building a family
- Concerned about children in foster care
Today’s employers must consider and choose from a broad range of desired benefits. Available choices should be based primarily on the needs of employees if they are to be considered as meaningful benefits. As the composition of the American family changes and adoption finds a larger place, adoption assistance becomes more worthy of a second look.
Nontraditional Employee Benefits
With an ever-increasing emphasis on quality of life, many companies are offering nontraditional employee benefits in lieu of more traditional benefits like raises. Additionally, some of these alternative benefits are offered in order to help reduce the sting felt by employees as insurance premiums go up, and employers find themselves unable to pay as much as they once did for health benefits. Here are some nontraditional employee benefits that can let employees know you care about their wellbeing, but that cost the company little (often less much less than an outright raise) to nothing.
Credit Union Membership. Joining a credit union gives you more options for helping your employees do more with their money. The benefits of membership include attractive loan rates for homes and autos; highly competitive interest rates on credit cards; and personalized services that address individual financial scenarios. Employees appreciate the benefits that credit union membership offers and it costs you nothing to give them access to higher yield CD’s and other savings/investment vehicles.
Optional unpaid leave. This is becoming an increasingly popular benefit. In addition to traditional paid holidays, some companies offer optional unpaid leave. This means that an employee can take some time off after paid leave is gone. A cap on days is necessary, of course, but many employers find that workers will take 6-9 days of unpaid leave at various times throughout the year, even though it means forfeiting some money. Offer it as a choice, and employee morale will improve when they know that they have additional vacation options.
Paternity leave. Paternity is a nontraditional employee benefit that is on its way to becoming standard in the corporate world. It is up to the employer to determine whether or not it should be paid, but it is something that lets workers know that the company understands and values the importance of family, and a man’s desire to be a good husband and father.
Discounted gym memberships. Many local gyms give discounts to companies who sign their employees up. This benefit can work one of two ways. The first is for the gym to offer a discount of anything from 15 to 30 percent to employees. The other is for the gym to offer a discount to the company for each membership, and then the employee pays half that while the company pays the other half of the discounted membership. The employee’s half can be taken directly out of her or his paycheck.
Free skill upgrade seminars. Arranging classes and seminars to employees that help them upgrade their skills or learn how to more effectively do their jobs can contribute to the employees’ self esteem while at the same time providing for a more competent workforce. Likewise, general classes on things like investing or family budgeting are also beneficial and can help employees feel more satisfied about working for a company
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