American Express, Bloomberg, PwC are among the most adoption-friendly companies

Family-friendly benefits have become a pressing need in the HR space, and employers have realized that every kind of family — no matter how it's built — deserves the same support. 

Nonprofit organization The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption released its 16th Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list. The Foundation partnered with nonprofit organization RTI International to survey employers representing 22 industries across the United States. They then scored participants based on three criteria: financial reimbursement (45%), paid leave (45%) and the percentage of employees eligible for those benefits (10%). 

"All kinds of adoption should be eligible for benefits — whether it's international adoption or domestic adoption," says Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. "This means encouraging and providing financial benefits for families who adopt as well as paid leave for families who adopt, so that there is time for the family to bond without it being a penalty to the family because that's still a requirement — whether it's an infant that comes into the family through birth or if it's a child that comes to the family through adoption." 

Read more: Adoptive and foster parents want family planning benefits, too

On average, surveyed employers offer $12,000 in financial reimbursement, up 9.5% from 2021.he average amount of paid leave is 8.3 weeks, up 8% from 2021. Ferring Pharmaceuticals, which came out on top of the 2022 list, offers unlimited financial reimbursement for adoption costs and 26 weeks of paid leave to adoptive parents.

"Families don't adopt because benefits are available, they adopt because they want to adopt," Soronen says. "But the idea that they could do this in a much more efficient and effective and less stressful way makes it that much easier."

The foundation's list spotlights organizations that employ more than 1,000 people, and provide the largest overall financial benefits for adoption to the largest number of employees. See what other companies have made commitments to support their employees on their adoption journey: