Originally published at capitalonecareers.com. Capital One Financial ranked No. 28 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021.
Kevin and his husband Craig were ready to start their family. While they had a friend offer to be their surrogate, due to same-sex surrogacy regulations in their home state of Texas, the process became more complicated; pushing them to decide that adoption was the best choice to become a family of 3. At the same time, Kevin was looking to make a major career change and applied to a project manager role at Capital One. As he was speaking with a recruiter, Kevin asked about adoption reimbursement. Not only did he like what he heard about the job, Capital One offered the option to reimburse him for the majority of the adoption fees that he had heard really break the bank. Kevin was sold on the role and Capital One, accepted the job offer and was even more impressed to find out that as a full-time associate, the benefits for him and his husband started on day one.
Empowered with the benefit of adoption support, Kevin and Craig found an adoption agency and began the process. They completed the screenings and were quickly matched with a birth mother. The baby was due around Christmas, and Kevin shared the good news with his team at Capital One. His team threw him a surprise baby shower, which unfortunately ended bittersweetly. Shortly after the baby shower, the adoption fell through and Kevin and Craig were heartbroken. They leaned on each other during the holiday season and much to their delight, in early January, they were selected to welcome a baby boy due to be born in South Carolina.
Kevin was excited for the new baby, but hesitant to share the news with his entire team after working through such a let-down a few months prior. He worked closely with his manager to plan his work schedule around the potential new addition to their family. When Kevin and Craig got the call to attend the birth of their son, Kevin knew that he had his manager’s support to concentrate on his new baby. Once custody arrangements were made between South Carolina and Texas, the new family of three was on their way home. With the help and support of Kevin’s Capital One’s benefits, teammates and colleagues, he and his family continue to thrive.
