All employers are required by law
to provide adoptive parents with up to twelve weeks unpaid leave for the
adoption. Some employers provide more benefits such as financial contributions,
paid leave, etc. For example, Wendy’s Corporation provides paid leave and more
than $4,000 in financial contributions. Check with your employer’s human
resources office to see what benefit you may be eligible to receive.
There is a one-time subsidy
program available for full-time military personnel. Adoption couples or singles
can receive up to $2000 per child or $5000 maximum for siblings.
Military families are entitled to
adoption benefits of up to $2,000 a year for reasonable and necessary expenses
associated with adoptions finalized after October 1, 1990, whether they are infant
adoptions, intercountry adoptions, or adoptions of
children with special needs. The benefits cover the following:
- Public and private adoption fees charged by an agency
in a foreign country.
- Placement fees, including fees charged to adoptive
families for counseling.
- Legal fees, including court costs, in connection with
services that are unavailable to
military personnel through their legal assistance office.
- Medical and hospital expenses of a newborn.
- Medical expenses incurred by a birthmother.
Benefits are paid after an adoption
is finalized, and apply to both singles and couples.
People find many ways to finance
adoption. There is a website called Angelfire that
lists many, many resources for grants and loans that are available to
prospective adoptive parents. Go to this, http://www.angelfire.com/journal/adoptionhelp/adopthelp.html#GRANTS,
to find additional information.
