Recognizing Generous Family-Building Benefits

Booz Allen’s outstanding health coverage and financial assistance for parental hopefuls are lauded by a national magazine.

Booz Allen Hamilton has been named again to Conceive’s list of Top 50 Best Fertility-Friendly and Adoption-Friendly Companies.

The May/June 2009 issue of the magazine and conceiveonline.com ranked the best companies in the nation for offering family-building benefits, which include adoption and fertility diagnosis and treatment.

“Regardless of how our staff members choose to build their families, Booz Allen supports their efforts with an array of benefits from medical coverage to fertility treatment, leave programs, and adoption assistance,” says associate Natalie Jackson.

Booz Allen’s adoption benefits provide eligible employees with financial assistance of $5,000 per adoption with no lifetime cap.

The firm’s fertility treatment benefits include coverage for up to six attempts at artificial insemination (i.e., IUI) and up to four attempts at in vitro procedures (i.e., IVF), including prescription fertility drugs. IUI is attempted fertilization that occurs inside the body; IVF is attempted fertilization that begins in a lab and continues when the embryos are transferred to the uterus.

Parental leave benefits at Booz Allen include six weeks of paid leave for normal delivery and eight weeks of paid leave for C-sections for birth mothers under short-term disability; two weeks of paid leave for birth fathers; and 24 weeks of unpaid leave for all new parents. The firm also offers unpaid family and medical leave for up to 12 weeks.

“The firm is committed to supporting family-friendly programs, including flexible work arrangements and child care benefits,” Jackson says. “By offering fertility treatments and adoption assistance, Booz Allen is maintaining our commitment to support the work-life balance of our staff members who want to become parents.”

To compile the list, Conceive sent surveys with detailed questions about infertility and adoption benefits and parental leave policy to 200+ companies selected from past lists, blogs, Internet postings, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces, and industry leaders and nonprofits. Created by the founder of Wendy’s restaurants, who was adopted as a child, the Dave Thomas Foundation supports the adoptions of children in North America’s foster care system.

story posted June 30, 2009