Military Adoption Benefits
- Overview
- Agencies for Overseas Families
- Military Adoption Benefits
- Obstacles Facing Military Families
- Breaking Down the Barriers
If you are on active duty in the military, you are eligible for reimbursement of expenses up to $2,000 for the adoption of a single child and up to $5,000 per family per year. There is one caveat: The adoption must have been arranged through a source that is authorized by a State to provide adoption placements, if the adoption is supervised by a court under state or local law. Paid after the adoption is finalized, this benefit is not doubled if both parents are in the military.
Fees that can be reimbursed include agency fees, legal fees, placement fees, and medical expenses. Travel expenses were not originally covered when this program was introduced, but they may be covered now.
Military parents can exercise an option to have children that are placed with them covered by their military medical program even before the adoption is finalized. You should apply to the Secretary of your branch of the service for the child to be a "Secretary Designee." If you have questions about this process, contact your commanding officer or The National Military Family Association at: (703) 931-6632.
Under the military’s Program for Persons with Disabilities, military parents may be eligible to receive up to $1,000 a month for disabled or special needs adopted children. The military also has a program called the Exceptional Family Member Program that will ensure that adoptive parents of special needs children are assigned to bases or duty stations that can meet the needs of the child.
Credits: Mary M. Strickert, 2004, "International Adoption Guidebook"
