The Wall Street Journal featured a Carrot member’s adoption journey in an article covering trends in employer adoption assistance. Only 1 in 5 companies that offer fertility coverage also provide coverage for adoption or foster care, according to new research from FertilityIQ. Overall, 17% of companies with 500 or more employees offer some adoption assistance; 30% offer fertility assistance.
In the WSJ article, Carrot member Anita Jennison’s experience stood out as a success story.
She shared her experience using Carrot’s adoption assistance services at her former employer, Goop – an early Carrot customer and employer leader. Before Jennison learned that her company would reimburse up to $60,000 towards her adoption costs, she wasn’t sure she would be able to afford adoption, she told the WSJ.
“I never expected this to happen,” she said. “This is a godsend, because no one offers this.”
She notes that she knows dozens of other families looking to adopt who can’t currently afford it.
Adoption costs can include public or private agency fees, legal fees, and counseling fees. For those choosing international adoptions, additional costs can include home stays, travel costs, and translation services. In total, adopting a child from foster care costs up to $5,000, while domestic private adoptions typically cost from $30,000 to $50,000. Intercountry adoptions cost between $30,000 and $60,000 on average.
Individuals are drawn to adoption for a range of personal reasons. People in same-sex relationships or single people in particular benefit from improved accessibility to adoption. With Carrot’s flexible financial benefit, employers don’t have to choose between fertility or adoption assistance — they’re able to offer all employees equal access to financial coverage, no matter their chosen path to parenthood. Carrot has been offering equal access to adoption support since day one.
“Forward-thinking employers are realizing that without adoption services, they’re not supporting all paths to parenthood equally,” says Evan Friedenberg, U.S. Operations Associate at Carrot. “By offering adoption assistance, employers can extend their family-forming benefits and make a complicated process more accessible for employees, too.”
Carrot works with employers to offer both financial and logistical assistance to employees interested in pursuing adoption. With a global network of more than 1,250 agencies and attorneys supporting adoption and gestational carrier services in 50+ countries, Carrot members can access high-quality, vetted support no matter where they are.
If you’re interested in learning more about Carrot and how we can create a customized plan for your organization that includes adoption, get in touch.
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