Air Force offers financial aid to people wanting to adopt Published Nov. 24, 2009 By Susan Griggs Keesler News editor KEESLER AFB, Miss -- November is Adoption Awareness Month, and the Air Force is working to make adoption more affordable for potential Air Force parents. Through the Adoption Expense Reimbursement Program, parents using a legal adoption agency may be eligible for up to $2,000 per adoptive child, with a maximum reimbursement of $5,000 in a calendar year, for qualifying expenses. "With the current economic downturn, the cost of adoption can discourage potential parents," said Steve McDaniel from the airman and family readiness center. "I believe that you can get anything in life you want if you help someone get what they need -- and adoption is a wonderful way to build a family." To qualify for the program: *Adoption must be finalized while the Airman is serving on continuous active duty, or full-time Air Guard Reserve duty with orders specifying a period of at least 180 days. *Child must be under 18 years of age and physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself, *Child may not be the biological offspring of the Airman or a stepchild, and the adoption must be arranged by a qualified adoption agency that has responsibility under state or local law for child placement through adoption; a nonprofit voluntary adoption agency that is authorized by state or local law to place children for adoption; or any other source authorized by a state to provide adoption placement if the adoption is supervised by a court under state or local law. For more information, call Mr. McDaniel, 376-8586, or the Total Force Service Center, 1-800-525-0102 or DSN 665-5000.