Adoption why is it so costly the fees are too high?

BPD Wife

Adoption does seem expensive at first glance, but I believe that many of the fees are necessary to protect our children. If we did not have background checks, fingerprint fees, and agency visitations, adopted children would be at risk for dangerous situations. Anyone would try to adopt - including child abusers/molesters, etc. It would be horrible for our kids. I hope that by having the fees associate with adoption, it allows some protection for the children.

That being said, in the US there is an adoption tax credit that can be used after adoption. I agree that there should be more government assistance throughout the process. For example, if a family is approved by a reputable agency for adoption, then perhaps the government can assist with some of the fees, etc., as the adoption is being processed rather than waiting for it to be finalized first.

Just my 2 cents - for what it's worth.

Jenn

You can apply for an adoption grant from Steven Curtis Chapman's foundation "Shaohannah's Hope"

Doodlestuff

Get your butt in gear and get a second job then. Better yet, get a dog. Clearly you just want a free-for-all. Has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, you'd have to pay for a BIRTH? Of course not. You are too busy whining about your money.

The average family in the US pays around $6,000 just to give birth WITH insurance (all those co-pays and meds not covered add up). Those without insurance pay upwards of $10,000. More if there is a c-section or pregnancy complications. Let's top that off with your preference for a beautiful baby. People who have their own don't get a choice. If their baby has birth defects or health problems, they have to deal with it.

Ok..off soapbox.

momofone

Actually adoption can cost up to 50000 in some cases. Guatamala adoption run about 35000. If it is adoption that you want , dont be intimated by the cost...there are many resources for you. In fact in the US (assuming that is where you live) Pres. Bush put into place a adoption tax credit in 2005. Not a big fan of Bush, but I have to thank him for that. This means that you have up to 5 years to claim up to 10000 (and some change) from your taxes. There are also grants, 0% interest loans, and the handy dandy home equity loan! To learn more about the tax credit you can vsit the IRS website. Good luck.

eve

because it is worth so very much. anything truly beautiful is expensive!!

butters

because agencies are in it for the money because they can get it because you want a baby so bad they know will pay almost anything for that and its true you cant but a price on the love of a child but i do belive that of all the children that are in need of a loving family wouldnt it be more fofilling to give happiness than to take money from someone who has already decided to give themselves to a child.it is a sad situation from the financial stand point i mean i dont know you but think about it did your parents have that much lying around as you said when you came into this world probally not right,i know mine didnt and yet they have raised you and taught you well so that know your heart is so big you are willing to take in child that is not your own and love it as it were with no dout morally standing it should be a question of love not money but we see that isnt how it is today.maybe you could go through human services,they charge no fees and when you find your child they will be the most beautiful you could have ever hoped for

RoVale

It is expensive if you want the type of child most adoptive parents want - a healthy white baby. I used to know someone who worked for an adoption agency and said that there could be as many as 30 couples waiting for such a baby at any given time. This person also said that if you're willing to adopt a less-than-perfect or an older child, then the fees and waiting period are a lot shorter. Sorry to say this but it has to do with the old supply-and-demand rules.

Mrs.Gower

Woah!!!
thats alot of money...

I am infertile... so adoption would of been one of my options, i guess no now!
I wonder why it is so much... Do you think the price differes depending on age???

Try to find a diffrent agency to adopt from, mabey one who understands, that you have money to care for the child, but do not have the lump sum that they are asking for...
Mabey you could find a pregnant women in the U.S who would like to put her unborn up for adoptin, and work with a lawyer and her???

I really wouldnt know where to start?

Good-Luck!!!

Mother of four

The enternal desire to have a child is so great that these agencys know you will pay "anything" if you can to adopt.

Sad but true.

clcalifornia

Try local places like Children Home Society
That is where I adopted my daughter.
It as about $3,000 but then that was back in 1980
start saving money now. Bit by bit and pray for a miricle.
My daughter is an adult now and we look alike. She and I are best friends. She was rebellous teenager, but we are connected at the heart.

Also, check out some church adoption places. And County agencies. Or try for a private adoption.
Don't give up hope

Because you want the process to go smoothly and you want to minimize risk, you need to have lawyers involved. As almost everyone knows, lawyers are expensive.

You, I, and everyone agree that every dollar sent to a lawyer is a dollar that cannot be spent on your child. If you have a good lawyer, they will use paralegals whenever possible, to reduce the costs.

You quickly lose any resentment or bad feelings regarding fees when you meet your child!

Also, there is a tax credit of up to $10,000 for adoption. That shouldn't be the reason to adopt, but it takes some of the sting out of the costs.

Here is a short breakdown of some of the typical costs for adoption:

$5,000 - $7,000 for each lawyer ($10,000 - $14,000 total). This covers the fees associated with the time they spend preparing, mailing, filing, and confirming paperwork. It also covers costs of meetings, copying of profiles, reviewing of potential birth moms, etc.

$2,500 for advertising.
Birth moms don't just instinctively know where to go to begin an adoption plan. The attorneys need to get the word out through phone book listings, newspaper ads, pamphlets, and even billboards. This is why some attorneys handle significantly more adoptions than others.

$2,000 - ??? for birth mom's costs
The birth mom will submit a list of her costs associated with the adoption to her attorney. The attorney will review the list and determine if the costs are reasonable. Reasonable costs include: medical visits, transportation to and from appointments directly associated with the adoption or the pregnancy, lost wages (which is why the upper limit can be high), etc. The birth mom cannot just ask for a lump sum of money. All costs must be verified.

$500 - $2,000 for birth mom counseling
The adoption process can be difficult on the birth mom as well. The attorney often affords her the opportunity to get counseling.

$500 - $1,500 for nanny services
During the period between when the birth mom relinquishes custody and you take custody, the child will be in some type of custody. This cost varies depending upon the age of the child and the actual costs incurred during that period.

$0 - $6,000 for medical costs
Another reason why you want to get a competent attorney is because they will make sure that a birth mom without good insurance gets on some type of government/state assistance. If this doesn't happen, you are often responsible for the costs of the birth, as well as prenatal care.

in COGNITO *

sounds bad but, suppily and demand. Our agency had 100 or so families wanting to adopt and placed about 10 last year. I'm not sure where the money REALLY goes, but the dorector drove a real nice Mercedes. the most expensive part is the placement fee which is usually based on your income. All of the other fees, like b-parent assesments, homestudy, parenting classes, cpr classes, background checks, Report writing, faxes, mailings, and every little extra has it's own charge. so Really the placement is a finders fee. I so makes me sick.

It's illegal for a mother to "Sell" her baby, yet an agency can. If it were a lagitamit cost then why is it income based?

StacieG

Yep, adoption is very costly! There are reasons why it costs so much, though. For the most part, agencies are reputable and arenâ€™t â€œin it for the moneyâ€ (yes, I know there are going to be exceptions to that, but for the most part, this is accurate). There are also things that you can do about it!

Itâ€™s expensive to adopt internationally because (and even privately, domestically) thereâ€™s so much that goes into it. First of all, thereâ€™s an application fee so that the agency can look over your application and talk to you about your intentions, hopes, desires and dreams. They use this information to see if youâ€™re an appropriate family to bring a child into. From there you have fees that cover program fees (the social workers and coordinators and other agency staff need to be paid if theyâ€™re to keep the doors open). They have a lot of training & have a lot of expertise to share with you to make your adoption experience smoother, easier & more pleasant. There are expenses involved in translating the whole, huge stack of paperwork and other documents that youâ€™ve gathered during the â€œpaper chaseâ€ phase of the process. There are a lot of nuances with each language & something that might sound straight forward in English may be far from it in the childâ€™s birth language â€“ they look for all these types of things so that the receiving government doesnâ€™t reject your dossier.

There is expense involved in gathering your paperwork. Youâ€™ll ask for references & most of the documents you gather will not only have to be notarized, but the notary seal will need to be authenticated (apostille). Youâ€™ll likely have to pay to get copies of birth and marriage certificates & any divorce decrees, too. Youâ€™ll pay to be fingerprinted by Immigration and have them process your prints, the FBI will need prints & to process them, your state will also need prints and need to process them (so Immigration check, FBI criminal background check, state criminal and child abuse/neglect background checks). There are lots of other documents like your passports, visas to travel & conduct legal business in the other country, medical exams, etc.

Then you have the homestudy, pre-adoption and post-adoption services youâ€™ll receive. Thereâ€™s the post-placement visits and reports as well. Plus the expenses of any pre-adoption classes or training you need to get and any books you read and want to add to your library which will help you parent your child.

Nowâ€¦thatâ€™s just pretty much to get your dossier together and into the other countryâ€™s hands. Now you have your travel expenses. Youâ€™re going to need to buy plane tickets, pay for lodging and meals as well as taxis and things to get around. Youâ€™ll need to get medicals for the child in order for him/her to receive their passport and visa to travel back home with you. You have the expense for the childâ€™s travel visa and passport. Youâ€™ll need to pay for the new birth certificate and for the court costs associated with the adoption decree. There will likely be an attorney in country handling all the legalities for you. Plus youâ€™ll probably have a translator and maybe a driver to take you where you need to go when you need to be there (many third world countries have conditions where you would not want to drive!).

The child has been in an orphanage or foster care for how many ever weeks, months or years, too. Those expenses must be covered so that they can provide care for the children who are still in care waiting for their forever families and for new children coming into care. Thatâ€™s where the orphanage donation, fee or the foster care donation or fee comes into play.

Alrightâ€¦so that gets you to the airport & you need to pay for the childâ€™s air fare, too, plus any incidental expenses that are associated with your travel back home.

Soâ€¦thatâ€™s why international adoption is so expensive. Considering all that, I think itâ€™s a bargain!

Nowâ€¦hereâ€™s what you can do about it.

* Thereâ€™s a federal tax credit (go to http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html for more info).
* Many states have tax credits (contact your stateâ€™s department of revenue for more info).
* There are grants and loans available (Google for more information on that).
* A Growing number of employers are providing adoption benefits. Contact your HR department to see if they have themâ€¦if not, request them by going to http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/materials_list.asp?Category={B013A8EF-53BB-4232-9E97-27F0F8DBDBEE}) for a toolkit that will guide you through the process of requesting that your employer implement benefits.
* You can do a fund raiser to help defray the costs (Google for more information).
* You can also consider adopting from foster care. There are no or next-to-no fees involved in this & there are lots of kids who need forever families right here within our own borders.

MOMMY585

guess they are figuring if you can not afford the fees then you won't be able to afford the child care costs. Of course this also ensures that only people who really want to become parents and can take care of the child are getting children. Have you considered doing foster care?

*Charli* Mamma Di Gemini's

It is way to expensive!!!

I do wonder where the money is actually is going, because you are going to raise the child for the rest of your lives!

joyfuljoy

they are scare that you may hurt the child that you adopt, therefore its very costly! That what i think!

Mrs B

because only the rich can adopt

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