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Stories
Two Dads' Journey Through Adoption for a Baby Named Chase
Troy Snell always knew he wanted a family of his own, but the timing never seemed right.
Sep 14, 2022
Troy Snell always knew he wanted a family of his own, but the timing never seemed right. Life events—marriage, a new job, moving to a new city—always seemed to put his family plans on the back burner.
In 2019, Troy moved into a new job as a Business Development Officer at JPMorgan Chase. Troy and his husband, Jon Bass, moved from Florida to Boston, seemingly pushing their family plans even further away.
But a new opportunity was waiting around the corner.
Later that year, Jon's sister became pregnant and began to consider adoption. That's when Troy and Jon knew it was time to start their family.
So they turned to JPMorgan Chase's Family Building Assistance Program, which is designed to help JPMorgan Chase employees offset the high cost of adoption, surrogacy and other family planning needs.
"Adoptions present quite a cost barrier to many families," Troy said. “We were able to overcome that because of the funds available to me as a JPMorgan Chase employee."
With the timing now on fast-track, Troy and Jon were still unsure of what to expect from the adoption process. So they turned to JPMorgan Chase's Family Building Assistance Program, which is designed to help JPMorgan Chase employees offset the high cost of adoption, surrogacy and other family planning needs.
Troy and Jon also tapped into JPMorgan Chase's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to find an adoption attorney to help them with the process. They were able to ask questions, find resources and learn more about the adoption process without any hassle or judgement.
“JPMorgan Chase's family-building resources meet the employee where they are, regardless of how they want to build their family," Troy said. “That is an incredible but important step in normalizing the various ways people can choose to build their family today."
For many parents, striking a balance between home and work can be a real challenge, but Troy's new manager, Robin Anderson Ross, was able to help. She gave him the flexibility to work from home throughout the month of December, making it possible for Troy and Jon to attend doctor's appointments and be part of the entire adoption process.
In December, Troy and Jon welcomed a healthy baby boy, and named him Chase—although Troy is quick to point out that they didn't name their baby after his employer. “Chase was a name I heard 18 years ago, and as I grew older, it stuck with me," said Troy.
Troy took a 16-week parental leave to care for Chase and joined a parental support group at JPMorgan Chase, which has helped him find the childcare help his young family needs. “JPMorgan Chase's family assistance program was instrumental in bringing baby Chase into our lives and helping us get the support we need," Troy said.
Now, baby Chase is 18 months old, and Troy and Jon are happier than ever.
“We experience something new every day," Troy said. “It's amazing: Once you start doing some of the simpler things in life with your child, you remember how much you loved doing it yourself."
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