304 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
Exercise 10.1: Supporting Adoption in Carmel, Indiana
Carmel, Indiana, recently approved a plan to offer each of its fi ve hundred
city employees up to fi ve thousand dollars in adoption costs per child, with
a maximum of ten thousand dollars per employee. The benefi t would
cover expenses such as agency and placement fees, court costs, and medical
expenses for the birth mother and child. This money would come from the
city ’ s employee health care account. Carmel runs its own health insurance
program with a third - party administrator. The city ’ s director of human
resources, Barbara Lamb, said her department thought about the initiative
for a few years: “ We ’ re always looking for things we can do in our never -
ending quest to make our benefi ts package as attractive as possible. ”
Some, however, question whether city employees should receive help
from taxpayer dollars. Carmel City councilman Eric Seidensticker said
he does not view adoption as an insurance issue, especially not one that
should come from city funds. “ Just because other companies provide the
benefi t doesn ’ t mean it ’ s fi scally responsible. ”
As of 2006, 45 percent of employers offered adoption benefi ts, according
to a survey of 916 employers sponsored by the Dave Thomas Foundation
for Adoption, a nonprofi t that pushes to increase the number of adoptions
nationwide.
Gloria Hochman, communications director for the National Adoption
Center, an adoption advocacy group, said that offering adoption assistance
benefi ts is a smart move for employers. Because not many employees take
advantage of the option, it provides a relatively low - cost way of making
the company a more attractive place to work.Questions- What are the advantages and disadvantages of offering adoption
benefi ts to employees? Is this benefi t consistent with SHRM? Explain
your response. - Do you think employers should offer benefi ts that apply to a subset of
employees and not the general workforce? Explain your position.
Sources: Jarosz (2007); City of Carmel Adoption Assistance Program (2008, January).