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A 2025 list of American workplaces best supporting employees adopting a child ranks Montana-based Northwestern Energy 92nd overall and in the top three in the energy and utility industry.
The annual list from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption takes into consideration criteria including financial reimbursement.
Ryan Lower, Lewiston district manager for Northwestern Energy, said the company offered his family a lump sum of $20,000 while adopting a child from Bulgaria.
"Which we were able to use for everything from the plane tickets over there to the lawyer fees and the adoption agency fees," Lower outlined. "That really went a long way to aid the financial burden."
Lower pointed out paid parental leave – another factor the foundation considers in its annual ranking – helped him follow the adoption agency’s recommendation to spend time building up the new family relationship.
Lower noted his family started the adoption process in 2018 and, with an added delay due to COVID, brought home their new child four years later, in 2022.
"While you're waiting every year, you have to go renew your background checks and get fingerprints done," Lower observed. "Yeah, it was a long process."
The number of companies offering adoption benefits is rising but remains lower than the rate for fertility benefits. In 2024, 20% of U.S. companies offered financial assistance with adoption compared with just 12% in 2014, according to a report by the International Federation of Employee Benefit Plans, which found 42% of companies provided fertility benefits.
Disclosure: The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Philanthropy, LGBTQIA+ issues and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
