My wife and I are in the process of a domestic adoption as a means to create our family. Infertility has left us no other option. As an educator, my wife is a member of a union and in most cases is the beneficiary of family-oriented policies. While her school system does offer paid maternity leave for mothers of traditional birth, there is no paid leave available for adoptive mothers of newborns.
Compounding the process is the sheer costs of adoption. Typical domestic adoption costs are between 35k-40k dollars. Furthermore, 7-10 days of travel is required by each state in order to finalize court processes.
My wife had to petition her administration to even use her sick/personal time for the adoption, which only amounted to 11 days, as this is her second year in the district. After all of the heartache and indignities that we were subjected to through various testing and treatment, we deserve the same ethical treatment that any new family is entitled to. We may not be able to change current policy in time for our adoption, but we will be the agents of change for future adoptive families.
Marc, East Hampton CT
