Domestic Adoption
Teacher Helps Secure Paid Leave for Adoptive Parents in District
If patience is a virtue, then it is definitely created—and tested—in waiting. Carolyn and her husband, Chris, were blessed with the birth of their son, Matthew, in June of 2002 and have been waiting for two years to adopt another child. By all accounts, waiting is extremely difficult, but for Carolyn, there has been a special blessing during this time.
A Chance to Make a Positive Change
This season of waiting in Carolyn’s life became a wonderful opportunity to make a positive change in the lives of adoptive parents in her Wayne County school district. Carolyn’s district didn’t pay adoptive parents for the standard six-week leave of absence that was automatically given to parents who gave birth to their children. Although Carolyn had adopted once before, her son was born in June. Since Carolyn is a teacher, she had the summer off, and thus the unpaid leave didn’t affect her. Now that she was planning to adopt again, there was a significant chance that the child would be born during the school year. This would mean that, in order to spend time bonding with the baby, she would have to take a six week, unpaid, leave of absence. With this in mind, Carolyn set out to campaign for equal treatment of parental rights between birth parents and adoptive parents in her district.
The Beginning Stages
Carolyn’s first step was to thoroughly investigate the district’s current adoption leave practices. Her research led her to discover that the district viewed time away from work due to adoption as strictly a medical leave. However, Carolyn’s work soon put her into contact with other parents in her district, including another mother who had actually been paid for a six week maternity leave when she adopted a child fifteen years earlier. These women became partners in campaigning for a six week paid leave for adoptive parents.
More Research
Carolyn continued her research by contacting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption but was disappointed to find that they only offer advice on creating adoption friendly environments for businesses, colleges, and universities. They didn’t have the information to assist employees of individual school districts. Carolyn then investigated the practices of other school districts and found that some did pay adoptive parents. The adoptive mother who was paid for maternity leave also proved to be a wealth of knowledge. She “had documentation from a pediatrician and ob-gyn stating that the standard six week leave of absence was not only for physical recovery but for emotional bonding as well,” says Carolyn.
A Road Block
Carolyn then shared her findings with the district representative. “We were told…that the next contract renewal wasn’t for another year. We were also told that not enough people would be affected by adoption language in the contract, so it was unlikely that they would want to devote time and energy into making it happen at this time,” says Carolyn. Although this proved to be a road block, it only served as a small detour, and Carolyn continued her effort to secure a paid leave for adoptive parents.
Spreading the Word
Carolyn’s next step was to contact lawyers who “seemed willing to assist and felt positive that we could get the language [in the contract] changed,” says Carolyn. She took notes on what the lawyers had to say and shared the information with other teachers and administration. “When more parents, teachers, and administration began to learn that adoptive parents weren’t being paid for their leave, we discovered that people thought it was unjust and wrong. They didn’t even know this practice was occurring,” says Carolyn.
A Year Later
One year later, when the contract renewal was approaching, Carolyn tried even harder to convince the negotiating team of the necessity of the paid leave for adoptive parents. Carolyn wrote a letter to the negotiating team that restated her petition and was prepared for an intense discussion. “Little did I know,” says Carolyn, “that before they received my letter, the team had already been discussing and approving adoption language for the contract.” The district representative had already shared Carolyn’s research with the negotiating team. “We were so thankful,” says Carolyn.
A Happy Ending
The new contract, which includes a six week paid leave for adoptive parents, went into effect in August. This wasn’t the only blessing that occurred, however. Carolyn says, “Adoptive parents bonded with each other. Adoptive families got acknowledgment that they are as special as birth families. Our district representative did hear us and fight for us. And, most importantly, adoptive families in our district can have one less stress while they enjoy the gift of a child.”
For Your Information
If you would like more information on how you can approach your employer about a paid leave for adoptive parents, please contact the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption by going to their web site at http://www.davethomasfoundationforadoption.org/. Because of Carolyn’s efforts, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption will now be able to provide teachers with a listing of districts that offer paid adoption leaves to parents.
Or, visit the following web site: http://www.adoptionfriendlyworkplace.org/.
