Background

The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes the importance of family as well as the role a service member's family plays in overall career satisfaction and retention. The DoD provides two main benefits to service members adopting an infant or child: reimbursement of certain adoption expenses and the authorization for leaders to permit their service members non-chargeable leave following an adoption. Additionally, installation family centers can provide information and referrals to local qualified adoption agencies and assistance when filing a claim for reimbursement of adoption expenses. For service members not located near an installation, Internet resources, such as Military OneSource, can also provide assistance in understanding the adoption process.

Key Points

• Adoption Reimbursement Program. Governed by federal law, the Adoption Reimbursement Program authorizes reimbursement to eligible service members for "reasonable and necessary" expenses associated with the adoption of a child from a qualifying adoption agency. Typically, these expenses include public and private adoption agency fees, placement fees, legal fees, medical expenses, and temporary foster care charges. These "reasonable and necessary" expenses do not include travel costs associated with the adoption. Service members are limited in the amount of financial reimbursement they can receive per child within a given year. The program and limits to reimbursement are governed by DoD Instruction 1341.09.
• Non-Chargeable Leave Federal law allows service members to be authorized up to twenty-one days of non-chargeable leave following an adoption. This leave authorization is not automatic and must be approved by the service member's supervisor, and may be denied depending on mission requirements and certain circumstances

Eligibility

• Adoption Reimbursement Program. Service members are eligible to receive reimbursement through the program if they had been on active duty for at least 180 days, adopt a child who is under the age of 18, adopt a child through a qualifying adoption agency, have the adoption finalized, and submit their claim for reimbursement within one year of the adoption finalization and before they are discharged from the military.
• Non-Chargeable Leave. To be eligible for authorized leave, the service member must meet the eligibility requirements for the Adoption Reimbursement Program and the adoption must have been completed after 6 January 2006. For dual-military couples who adopt a child, only one service member is authorized this type of leave.

Availability

These programs are available worldwide on military installations and in community-based partner facilities.

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