Companies in Colorado and across the nation are adding adoption and foster care benefits for workers, according to the 18th annual list of 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces.

Misty Valdez - a general manager for Wendy's in Aurora - was contacted by child services after her cousins were separated from their mom due to abuse, endangerment, and neglect.

All but one found new homes. When Valdez and her husband were told in 2019 that Xavi would be sent into state care unless officially adopted, they didn't hesitate.

"It felt like I had found out I was pregnant and gave birth on the same day," said Valdez. "It was an excitement feeling, but at the same time, really nervous. I can't explain it. It was one of those things where it was kind of overwhelming, but exciting at the same time."

In 2020, Colorado voters approved up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for new adoptive or foster parents per year. But nationally, nearly three in four workers still do not receive benefits.

Companies on the list offer an average of just under ten weeks of paid leave for new parents, a slight increase from 2023. They also pitch in nearly $16,000 in financial reimbursement for adoption costs.

After adopting Xavi, Valdez was able to spend ten weeks at home through her company's bonding leave program, which covered 100% of her wages.

She said that time helped bring the family, which included Valdez' two other children, closer together. It was also critical for finding resources to meet Xavi's particular needs.

"There was a lot of abuse prior to him coming into the home, so he had a lot of issues," said Valdez. "So having to move around the schedule, taking him to therapy. Having to adjust to the needs that he needed."

The annual list is compiled by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, named after the fast food chain's founder, who was himself adopted.

Valdez' advice to anyone adopting a child is to bring a lot of patience, and love. And she said the reward makes up for any challenges.

"You have another person that loves you unconditionally," said Valdez. "I'm going to have another kid that's going to have kids, and I'm going to be a grandma to another set of kids. It just expanded my family."




get more stories like this via email

A national program to connect children and families with the outdoors is at risk of ending without help from Congress.

The Every Kid Outdoors program provides fourth graders and their families the opportunity to appreciate nature and wildlife without breaking the bank.

Julia Hurwit, Outdoors Alliance for Kids campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said the program encourages children to seek out an active and healthy outdoor lifestyle, leading to a sustained relationship with the natural world by offering a free, one-year pass.

"This includes things like national parks, national historical sites, national marine sanctuaries," Hurwit outlined. "This pass begins on September first every year for the current class of fourth graders and gives them access to those places."

This month and continuing through Oct. 5, the Outdoor Alliance for Kids is organizing a range of events and actions to spread awareness and advocate for Congress to pass the Every Kid Outdoors Reauthorization Act. It would secure $25 million in permanent funding and extend the program to fifth graders.

The Sierra Club believes the wellness of current and future generations, the economy and the health of communities and the planet depend on people having a personal, direct and lifelong relationship with nature.

Hurwit added it helps if kids are introduced to the great outdoors early in life.

"Every year, it's about 200,000 fourth graders who are able to access this pass," Hurwit pointed out. "You can get a voucher for free online, and then you turn it into a physical parks pass in certain locations across the country, including most national parks and federal lands."

She noted much of the Sierra Club's belief in the importance of the Outdoor Alliance program is based on studies.

"When a kid goes to a national park or goes to public lands for the first time with their own family and with multi generations, it really encourages them to continue going because they're seeing someone they really look up to," Hurwit explained.

Iowa has released an interactive website to help parents find real-time child care options for their kids.

Iowa Child Care Connect, which the state has nicknamed "C3," uses crowdsourcing technology, helping people use up-to-the-minute data to find child care where and when they need it.

Sheila Hansen, senior policy advocate for the nonprofit Common Good Iowa, said C3 is a vast improvement over what the state had before.

"It was kind of clunky and it wasn't really very fast," Hansen recounted. "Hopefully this will be a vast improvement upon that and families will be able to just go in there and immediately find openings in their area."

The site also offers information on subsidies the providers accept along with current real-time openings and quality ratings. Hansen argued the state should focus on improving pay and working conditions for child care workers.

She acknowledged while the technology is a step forward, Common Good Iowa and other advocates said the state does not need more brick-and-mortar child care centers. It needs more staff, which has been the real challenge.

"That's because they're just unable to find the people who want to work in child care because the pay is so low or the benefits aren't there," Hansen explained.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services requires child care providers to complete various training requirements and update their certification every two years.


get more stories like this via email

The deadline is approaching for families to apply for food benefits in Washington state.

The national program known as SUN Bucks is the U-S Department of Agriculture's summer EBT program, which was created during the pandemic and made permanent this year. Most families were automatically eligible for the program, which provides a one-time payment of $120 per child in a household. Families who did not receive the benefit and believe they are eligible can apply through Saturday.

Norah West, assistant director of the Office of Communications and Government Affairs for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, said many students get meals through school.

"Having kids be out of school during the summer months makes it a little harder to get access to that nutritious food, and the price of groceries are not going down," West pointed out. "We're pleased to be able to offer even a small amount of assistance to folks."

Kids were automatically enrolled in the program if they are at a school in the National School Lunch Program and qualified with a meal application or Family Income Survey, or they're between age eight and 18 and in a house qualifying for benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Families meeting the National School Lunch Program's income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals can apply for SUN Bucks. In Washington state, more than 580,000 kids have received benefits this summer, totaling nearly $69 million. West noted the USDA has other summer meal programs as well.

"The federal government also offers two other programs called Sun Meals and Sun Meals to Go through school districts, and those are on site meal programs or in some rural areas," West outlined. "People may have the option to go to a site and pick up food and take it with them."

This summer, 37 states chose to participate in the SUN Bucks program.


get more stories like this via email