Question for teachers

[hreitz]

For those of you who are teachers, how did you take time off when your baby came home????

Dh and I were under the assumption that adopted parents were given the same privledges as birthparents when it came to taking time off...

though we aren't certain (We are working w/ the district to figure out the policy, as there is not specific wording in our teacher's contract)... we are under the impression that I would be able to have my 3 pd. personal days, but any time beyond that would be under the family medical act, unpaid....

Not exactly what we wanted to hear.... IF treatments and the adoption fees took quite a bit out of us financially and our savings aren't where we'd like them to be.... I was hoping to take 10 or 12 weeks off, but if not paid it looks like we could only swing 6 at the max....

Also, if necessary, do you think it would be possible that I get a doctor's note to allow me to stay home a few extra weeks... I do have quite a few sick days to use...

I am just afraid baby Ely won't get to know his Mommy very well before I have to go back to work..... DH is a teacher too.

sorry it got a bit long, we are just a bit overwhelmed, we weren't expecting this....

thanks,

Heather

[Feliz]

Oh honey. I don't have advice at all, but I would check with personnel and be assertive in getting all the answers possible. I work for the court system and was able to get 12 weeks Family Leave but it was all unpaid the only benefit was that they paid my benefits and I continued to accumulate my sick days and vacation as if I was working. Then with a letter from my pediatrician stating that Cami was still developmentally delayed I was able to get four more weeks unpaid leave but I was billed for my benefits that month since I did not "earn them" that month. Financially it was awful but for Cami it was just what the doctor ordered, she adjusted to daycare perfectly and was more secure in her attachement. Now, baby E is a lot younger so you won't have (God willing) issues with attachement even if you have to return earlier. So I guess, my advice would be to ask, ask and ask. I remember being told that I could not add Cami to my insurance until open enrollment when I came back from Russia and I cooly informed them that acc. to Calif. Law adopted children as just like birth children and added "upon birth" to your policy. That shut them up good. If necessary check with your union rep. I am a shop steward so I always check with my union if in doubt.

Good luck, everything will turn out okay.


Claud

[ivysmom]

HI Heather
I took family medical leave. You are not entitiled to disability only if you goice birth do you get disability. It is unfair and it sucks becuase i do not think most birthmoms need 6 weeks anymore than adoptive moms do. I think you may be able to use your sick and personal time that you ahve accumulated up till that point. You usually cannot take for future time. FMLA is unpaid but they do have to hold your job at the same salary and pay their portion of your benefits. Some schools also have things where a peson can dontate some of there accumalted leave time I know mine does maybe some staff would do this or maybe you could get your husbands time this way.
Good Luck
Hugs
Nina

[carlal]

I was able to use sick days for both adoptions. With our first son, I took off from March 8th through the end of the school year. With our second son, I took off from October 29th and returned after Christmas break. I was on paid leave (using sick days) the entire time, for both adoptions. Our county school system's policy considers bonding time to be part of maternity leave. I could have take off up to a year and been paid for all of it if I had enough sick days to cover it.
My sister worked in a different county school system (same state) was only able to take 6 weeks with pay. She took longer but the remainder was without pay.
BTW, I live in WV.

[RedbirdJ]

Ugh. Yes, we had the same problem. With our 1st adoption I would have had 12 weeks PAID leave if I'd given birth...but for adoption leave, nothing (oh, well, yes, I did get to take the vacation days I was already owed, and the FMLA at least guaranteed my health ins and job, gee thanks!). I am so sorry you are facing this too. For me, it just seemed like such an insult after everything else....

[nychris]

I had to use fml act...couldn't use a day of sick time. It's so very unfair. Unless it is written in your contract,that's probably all you will get. They wouldn't even let me use a sick day to take her to the drs appt that was required the next day.."because you could do that after 3." I went thru my savings but it was worth every day. Good luck to you.
Chris

[Leanne]

I am a SAHM now, but at the time of our adoptions I was employed by a major bank. It offered pretty good benefits. I was able to use what they called "Family Care Time" for two weeks, any vacation time and then FLMA after that. For the adoption of my dd we were also given $1500 in adoption assistance for attorney fees, etc.

It is a shame that adoptive parents don't get the same amount of time off. Just because we didn't physically give birth and thus qualify for Short Term Disability for 4 to 6 weeks, doesn't mean we don't need the time to bond with our new additions, like any parent.

[billysmom]

My school district's stand was exactly the same as yours -- I was not able to tap into any of my sick days. I used my personal day the first time around (but wish I hadn't because I went back to work during the same school year)but not the the second because I knew I would be out at the end of the school year and I didn't want to lose them. We are not allowed to accrue personal days.

For our first adoption, my last day of school was the Thursday before Thanksgiving. We left on Saturday, 2 days later. I ran around like a nut on that Friday. I don't recommend working to until the last minute! I returned to work the last week of January (beginning of second semester). I guess that totals up to about 8 weeks off. Insufficient but that couldn't be helped. THis was unpaid FMLA leave.

For our second adoption, I was a little smarter. We selected a program where we could judge somewhat when we would travel (China). I timed our dossier so that I would travel in June. I wanted to get as close to summer vacation as possible. Referral times sped up and I ended up travelling on May 12. My last day was the Friday before April vacation (last week of April). So I had 2 weeks off before travelling. My leave covered the rest of the school year. So with summer vacation I had a total of about 18 weeks before I went back to school. Again, the 8 weeks of time out of school was unpaid FMLA.

By the time we adopted our daughter, my husband also worked in the same school but was ineligible for FMLA so he did not take any time off. In fact, he did not travel to China so our son, grade 1 at the time, would not experience any disruption to his schedule.

[hreitz]

thanks everyone.... our union rep found out that it is a definite time off w/o out pay, but suggests I get a doctor's note saying I need time off due to emotional distress, and that way it would be hard for the board to deny me the 6 weeks.... So sad it has to come to this....

Anyway,

thanks again,

Heather

[KerryK]

Heather,

I was teaching when we adopted our first child...you might try speaking directly with your principal and see if they will support you on this one. I was allowed to use all of my sick and personal days for a total of about 5-6 weeks paid leave. I then took an additional 2 weeks unpaid. My principal was completely supportive, and I think it helped when I spoke with the board.

I realize that each state/county has its policies on this one, and our county had a policy that considered adoption equal to pg (as it should be!!!). I truly wish you luck on this and hope you can get the time paid.

I would also suggest getting your social worker to write a letter stating why the time off is necessary for bonding and attachment!

Good Luck,
Kerry
mommy to two from Russia