CULTURE WATCH : Employers Aiding Adoption Efforts

A small but growing number of employers are offering adoption assistance benefits, the journal Business Insurance has reported.

The 15% of employers who in 1992 provided aid to the thousands of families who adopt children was up from 12% the previous year, the journal found.

Some companies offered assistance with the cost of adoption. Others provided parental leave for adoptive parents. Some have joined information referral networks so that employees considering adoption can make efficient decisions.

About 50,000 domestic adoptions take place each year in this country. About 8,000 to 9,000 children from foreign countries are adopted annually in the United States.

The cost of adopting healthy infants born in this country ranges from about $5,000 to $25,000. Foreign adoptions are likely to cost about $20,000, although some are done for as little as $10,000.