Financial support for new and expecting mothers...?

Heather B

Perhaps some of those $10,500 per adoption tax credit taken from the 'pot' and given to adopters could be re-directed toward family preservation.

Perhaps some of the government funding that goes to the NCFA to promote and market infant adoption could be put to different uses also.

I'm just saying'

I Love A Child With Autism!!!

Wonderfully said. How would these same people feel if a tax increase was mandated to cover these costs? We really need to look for a realistic way to restructure the adotion process that will be the BEST for the child and reasonable for the nparents and aparents alike. Something sure needs to be done because I am hearing way too many adoptees who feel that they have been abused by the system. A life shouldn't be ruined to make anyone else's life better.

anastasia beaverhausen-the real1

i would happily pay the tax. how 'bout we take the funding from the war?

Doodlestuff

The primary support that a mom with a new baby needs is living quarters that are SAFE and AFFORDABLE. In our area, owners of low income housing have torn down their buildings and constructed yuppie housing. There is 25% LESS housing for those with low incomes today than 10 years ago in MN alone. If you are pregnant, how do you afford $700-$800 in rent even if your child care is paid for by the state? Republicans like to say there are lots of new jobs out there, but at $8.50 an hour you are pretty much outpriced in much of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area except for scummy areas.

It's my position that moms should not be forced by immediate economic hardship to have to give up their children for adoption. This isn't a 3rd world country - we have the support mechanisms to get those with no family support through those first few years. At the same time, we have to curtail the greed of those who would prevent those who make less money from at least having a place to live.

My very first apartment was in an average working class area just outside the Minneapolis line. Cost $250/mo including heat at a time I made $5.25 an hour (entry level job). That very same apartment, still with the same ugly green shag carpeting is now rented for $785/month (heat is paid separately). Someone doing a similar job as I did then now makes $8.25 an hour if they can find one since they have been outsourced to India.

5littlemonkeys

It could come from getting a job.

Santa's Lil' Helper

Throwing money at the problem does not solve it!!!
Generations LIVING on welfare has proven that point.

America wasn't built on free rides....you have to earn your way. No one helped my immigrant great-grandparents support their children.....What has happened to personal responsibility? Everyone wants a hand out.

And contrary to what some people on this site lead you to believe....The IRS is not handing out $10,500 checks. What sensible person would seriously believe the IRS is giving away money? Laughable at best! That is purposely misleading and a pathetic attempt to garner sympathy for anti-adoption agenda.

Cam

At least in the case of very young girls faced with an unplanned pregnancy (like Juno) the support should come from her own family. Many times these girls are pressured by family who could well afford to support their daughter and assist in raising the child until the mother is emotionally and financially able to on her own. That's a temporary solution to a temporary unplanned situation. Much too often the parents simply want to rid their daughter and themselves from the responsibility. In those cases families who CAN afford it should support each other and not depend on outside sources. For those who cannot afford it butare willing to assist should perhaps be entitled to a "family preservation" tax credit.

sizesmith

While the idea seems good, there are already some programs for people to keep their children. They are called, aid to families with dependent children, WIC (women, infants, children), food stamps, HUD housing, food banks, and welfare in general. Even medicaid has higher income limits for pregnant women so they get proper prenatal care and don't end up with many medical bills having babies.
Part of the reason why it is illegal to accept money in order to place a child for adoption, is the fact that if that were illegal, many people would sell their children, and become pregnant with more in order to get more money.
I do believe it is Texas that is trying to start a program for women who end up at an abortion clinic and change their mind to receive a stipend for that. I wish instead that people would use better birth control, that birth control be offered in schools, including high schools. Also, steralization ought to happen if a person has had MORE than 2 unplanned pregnancies that resulted in either a: an abortion b: giving a child up for adoption c: no child support paid d: abandonement of a child or e: having 2 or more children on welfare f: testing positive for drugs 2 times while having children under the age of 18 g: refusing to be part of the child's life (this would cover fathers as well as mothers, and there would have to be exceptions, such as rape, etc.). I see so many sibling groups that are in foster care, some upwards of 5 kids, and have been told by a social worker that in our state, locked garbage cans are a requirement, because some of these kids have been starved so much, that they steal food from the garbage to stockpile in their rooms.

I know this sounds harsh to some, however, there are so many kids in foster care now, and this solution, with added features that would protect some (such as married people who have an accidental pregnancy-I know I got pregnant while taking the pill), however, it would help the system have so fewer unwanted pregnancies, and if a woman were offered a reasonable sum of money, enough to get back on her feet, but not make a profit by pregnancy, that more babies would be placed for adoption rather than being aborted. Just enough like a paid maternity leave. I don't want everyone regulated, however, I do think that in cases of just not taking reasonable responsibility, that it might encourage people to do better, be more responsible, and to use birth control more. It's kind of like telling a child there are responsiblities for their actions. I know a lot of people who would not do drugs and take that risk, if they knew they would lose their kids. Now, if they test positive, there is so little punishment that the punishment is worth their high. It's kind of like stealing. People in the USA shoplift a lot, and in other countries, where harsher penalites like chopping of a shoplifter's finger is done, they have a lot less stealing! The reason people don't get more money on welfare is to encourage people to never want to be on it. The whole idea is supposed to be for temporary assistance, such as if they lose their job, have an accident, etc. If every person who felt an urge to get pregnant and have a baby were given the money to do so, we'd have such a bigger burden on an already stressed system. I believe that if a woman is raped, or similar situation, that she should be able to get more care during her emotional and physical recovery.

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