- Key Insight: Learn how adoption benefits expand even as other workplace perks retract.
- What's at Stake: Employers risk talent, equity perception, and recruitment competitiveness without adoption support.
- Supporting Data: $16,716 average adoption reimbursement, up 6% from 2025.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
At a time when some employers are pulling back on workplace perks,
Companies are offering an average of $16,716 in financial
"It's a small outlay for businesses, and yet it has maximum impact in terms of employee loyalty, recruitment, and a sense of equity among families in the workplace," said Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
The survey also ranked the
Read more:
Deutsche Bank, which came in at No. 15, has been in the top 100 for the last 19 years.
"At Deutsche Bank, we recognize that there is no single path to building a family," said Jackie McNeil, head of benefits for the Americas at Deutsche Bank. "Employees build their families in many ways, and our benefits are designed to support them wherever their journey begins. Offering adoption reimbursement reflects our commitment to ensuring all parents have access to meaningful support as they grow their families."
One family's adoption journey
Sarah Sanders and her husband, Greg, always knew they wanted kids. But after Sanders survived uterine cancer, having biological children wasn't possible.
They began working with an adoption agency in 2019, but ran into repeated delays and closed doors, including pandemic-related setbacks. In 2021, Sanders joined Capital One as a senior process manager — a company recognized by the Dave Thomas Foundation as one of the most adoption-friendly workplaces — and they continued the adoption process while she settled into her new role.
A year later, they attended an adoption event at their church, where they met the guardians of 8-year-old twins, Austen and Preston, who had recently been matched with an adoption agency.
Read more:
As the boys walked down the stairs of the event hall to meet them, Greg leaned over and whispered to his wife, "Those are our boys," Sanders recalled.
The private adoption was finalized in June 2023. Along the way, the couple leaned on Capital One's
"Don't give up," Sanders said. "There may be many challenges and obstacles along the way, but it's worth it to keep going."
A personal mission
Helping children like Austen and Preston find permanent homes is a mission that is very personal to Soronen. She has more than four decades of experience in child welfare and advocacy, focused on improving outcomes for children in foster care and strengthening
Before joining the Dave Thomas Foundation, she led Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County, Ohio, and held statewide leadership roles within Ohio's CASA/GAL network.
"I've always been involved in child welfare from prevention to intervention, and now at the foundation it felt like full circle when I was able to say, 'How do we make sure that children who are in foster care have every opportunity for permanence?'" Soronsen said.
"I've been really lucky that my career has focused on what I truly believe in the depths of my soul: providing justice for children."
