Becoming a Family: How Paramount Helped Us Adopt

“I always felt destined to be a dad. I knew it would be the most important role in my life,” says Bradley Archer-Haynes , SVP of Cross-Company Impact at Paramount. He just didn’t know how he would get there. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he says he was uncertain of his path or even if it would be possible.?

Archer-Haynes used Paramount's family planning and parenting benefits, which include fertility, adoption, and surrogacy support. In honor of National Adoption Day, Archer-Haynes shared how adoption gave him a path to parenthood.

I always felt a strong, innate draw towards adoption. This desire was deeply rooted in my own childhood. My upbringing was shaped by someone who wasn't my biological parent. The values instilled, unconditional love received, and guidance provided by this person made me realize that the essence of family extended beyond biological connections. Adoption felt organic and right.

But, my husband and I learned not to underestimate the path of adoption. Each family's journey is unique and comes with its own set of challenges.?

Our journey was long. It took almost five years before we were matched with a birth mother, who to this day is so very important to our family. Then, just two months after receiving the news, we became parents to twins—a boy, Otis, and a girl, Emmie. It was the culmination of years of waiting, and I immediately knew this was how my family was meant to come together.

I owe so much of becoming a family to the benefit that Paramount afforded me. Figuring out the path to parenthood can be difficult. Paramount enabled my husband and I to do that. It provided a structured and supportive environment, helping me understand the complex process. And Paramount's benefits—including financial assistance, legal support, and tailored family leave policies—played a crucial role in minimizing the challenges we faced.

Support Throughout the Adoption Process

Though the process was long, I felt like Paramount genuinely cared about my journey. Managers, colleagues, and peers were constantly checking in. My HR generalist was also very open and preemptive about parental leave and other benefits available to adoptive families.?

Progyny, Inc. Paramount's comprehensive benefits partner, became essential to our parenthood dreams. Working with dedicated individuals who understood my story, answered questions, and served as a coach throughout the process made a significant difference.

Paramount also offers a $30,000 lifetime benefit for adoption-related expenses.? Our son was born with a condition that kept him in the hospital for 5 weeks, so my husband and I relocated until it was time to move home with the twins. Needless to say, the financial support was so significant for us. It also eased some of the financial burden associated with adoption—covering a portion of agency and legal fees, travel costs, and more. Moreover, Paramount’s family healthcare benefits and dependent care FSA were instrumental in supporting the health and well-being of my growing family.?

Navigating as a New Parent

I felt supported in the unpredictability of adoption timelines, and when the time finally came, I was given ample time for my new family to bond. I cannot emphasize the importance of parental leave enough. You need that time to bond with your child, to get your own footing, to get your brain together. “What does it mean to be an employee and a parent?”

It’s incredible to know that your employer is treating you—an adoptive? parent and a member of LGBTQ+ community—the same way they would any employee who is also a parent. And that’s regardless of your path to parenthood or the ultimate makeup of your family. The company's commitment to diversity and inclusion, exemplified by the ParentHood employee resource group, provided a supportive community for my family. I met families that look like and have similar situations to mine, offering many support systems and people with whom I could relate.

As a very proud adoptive parent, I want people to know that adoption isn't only about the birth; it's about navigating the entire journey of your children's lives as any parent can relate. Becoming a parent, especially through adoption, has been the most challenging yet profoundly rewarding experience of my life. As for my 19-month-old twins, Emmie and Otis, Paramount played a crucial role in making my dreams of parenthood a reality and of course now we spend every day working to make their dreams the same.? Support in any form is a gift to any new parent; and of course the greatest gift of all, is our children themselves.?

Available to U.S.-based employees as of November 2023. Employees covered by an applicable collective bargaining agreement are governed by the provisions of that agreement.