NWC named among most adoption-friendly

Northwestern College is making its fourth appearance on the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces education list by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Ranked alongside Ivy League and Big Ten institutions as one of the leading adoption-friendly workplaces in education for 2014, Northwestern placed fourth nationally—behind Cornell University (first), New York University (second) and The Ohio State University (third).

“I’m very pleased that Northwestern College can again be recognized as an adoption-friendly workplace,” says Deb Sandbulte, Northwestern’s director of human resources. “Adoptive families face unique challenges, and we can’t begin to understand the emotional roller coaster they often experience. The least we can do is provide a level of support that assists those families financially and during the adjustment process with time-off benefits.” 

Northwestern offers financial assistance of up to $2,000 per adopted child to faculty and staff, with an additional reimbursement of up to $1,000 for the adoption of a special needs child. The funds can be used for such things as home studies, agency and placement fees, legal expenses and court costs, medical expenses, and transportation and lodging. Adoptive parents are offered up to seven days of paid leave in addition to accumulated sick leave, vacation and personal leave.

Northwestern enacted its adoption benefits policy in 2007 at the request of the Faculty/Staff Welfare Committee. Five employees have benefited from the policy since that time.

Sherri Langton, cataloger/library systems specialist, used Northwestern’s financial assistance to pay court and attorney fees incurred in the adoption of son Ahman, now 8, from Ethiopia. “The benefit that Northwestern provides to adoptive families shows not only an acceptance of adoption as a way to grow a family, but an understanding of some of the unique challenges involved with adoption,” she says.

Heather Sas, acquisitions and serials coordinator for the college’s DeWitt Library, has also benefited from Northwestern’s adoption policy. “We have responded to God’s calling to adopt and are grateful for the different ways Northwestern College supported us during our adoption journey,” says Sas. “What a blessing it is to have a workplace that acknowledges the joys and challenges that come with the gift of adoption.”

Rankings for the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces List, posted at www.adoptionfriendlyworkplace.org, are determined by an analysis of a company’s adoption benefits—financial reimbursement and paid leave—available to employees. The foundation compiled the results from survey data collected from U.S. employers and partnered with Employee Benefit News, the leading source of information for benefits decision makers, to announce the winners.

 The Wendy’s Company earned the top spot with a combination of up to $25,300 in financial assistance and up to six weeks of paid leave. In addition to ranking the top 100, the foundation also recognized the top 10 by size and the leaders of each industry.

More than 100,000 children in the U.S. foster care system are waiting to be adopted. The release of the annual Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces List helps the Dave Thomas Foundation increase foster care adoption awareness while celebrating those businesses that support adoptive families.