NWC named among most adoption-friendly

Northwestern College is making its fifth appearance on the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces education list compiled 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 2015, Northwestern placed fifth nationally—behind Pearson VUE (first), Cornell University and New York University (tied for second) and The Ohio State University (fourth).

“I’m very pleased that Northwestern College is again 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.

Ben Karnish, head women’s soccer coach and assistant athletic facilities coordinator at Northwestern, has recently benefited from the college’s adoption policy. “The process of adoption is an emotional journey that the college understands,” says Karnish. “We are so grateful for the multitude of ways Northwestern supported us during our adoption journey. It is a true blessing to work with people and an institution that are so supportive of those who adopt.”

Rankings for the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces List, posted at www.adoptionfriendlyworkplace.org, are determined by an analysis of a company’s adoption benefits, based on surveys completed by employers, including the maximum amount of financial reimbursement and paid leave for families who adopt.

The announcement of the 2015 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list comes the month preceding National Adoption Month, a collective campaign to raise awareness of the children in foster care waiting to get adopted.

 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.