What are some ways to make international adoption affordable?

Kim

You will get a lot of opinions about international adoption here. A lot of people think it's inherently unethical. (I'm not one of those people.)

If your friends are seriously interested, they should check with a reputable agency and find out the fee schedule. Although I've never heard of an adoption agency offering "payments," all of your fees are not due at the same time. Your fees are paid as the services are rendered. The Chinese adoption process is currently taking several years, so their fees would be spread out over that time.

Your friends might also qualify for the Adoption Tax Credit (http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html ). That wouldn't help them with the money up-front, but it might help overall. There are also a few places that I've heard offer "adoption loans," but I'd avoid that if possible.

My husband and I have adopted internationally twice, and we don't make much more than your friends. However, we are spending-conscious (both before and after the adoption) so we were able to save the money we needed without going into debt. (I'm sure the cost-of-living in your area will have a lot to do with it, but $90,000 sounds like a decent salary to me. Scale back where possible and start saving now!)

Randy B

Well, I adopted internationally but we were living in the country at the time (for 3 years) so our situation was a bit different. For us, it only cost about $800 total but if we had done it from Canada it would have cost about $30,000, about the same as from the US.

Unfortunately, from what I have seen, you are pretty much at the mercy of the system when you try to adopt internationally. All I can suggest is that your friends think long and hard about why they want to adopt from China or any other country vice adoption from home. There are plenty of children at home that need loving families and there are ways to do it either for much, much less money or even for free. Our second adoption was of an infant (got her at 4 days old and finished the adoption at almost 5 months) and it was 100% free through the foster care system.

Their choice but international is going to cost them I'm afraid.

Sweetiee

If they qualify for a home equity line of credit, they might want to look into that to draw from when they need to make payments..

ELLE T

Why not adopt from foster care in the US? Much cheaper.

Angela R

There are programs that provide grants, interest-free loans, and reduced fees for families adopting children who are "harder to place", usually older children or those with minor to moderate special needs. These programs are in place to help these "harder to place" children find homes, rather then to make it easier for familes hoping to adopt a completely healthy baby (there are already many families available for those children)

If they are interested, this agency helps has a program to help families adopt children from China with special needs. http://www.wacap.org/FamilyFinders.asp

We have adopted internationally twice, and know several families who earn $45,000- $60,000 a year, who were still able to adopt internationally on their own (us included) While few families have $20,000 lying around, your friends actually make more money then many other adoptive families. They've just made major sacrifices in their lives because adopting a child was a high priority to them.

For example, buying used cars, moving to a less expensive home, not going on vacation, getting an extra part-time job, baby-sitting on evenings and week-ends, cutting back majorly on spending- not going out to eat or to the movies, only buying nessesities (I can't remember the last time I bought something for myself that wasn't on clearance) Many families also take out loans, refinance their mortgage, or take out a home-equity line of credit.

If this is something really important to your friends then they can do it if they're willing to make sacrifices, especially considering the amount of money they already earn.

Kazi

$90,000 combined is a very decent family income, so there really isn't any reason why they could not afford the adoption expenses. We adopted our daughter from China in 2006 and from start to finish, it cost about $27,000. I do not know of any adoption agencies that offer payment plans, however, there are some banks (at least in Canada) that offer specific adoption loans (many people from our agency used them) and if your friends own a home they can also use their home equity or they could acquire a line of credit. As it stands right now, China has a backlog of about 3 years, so if your friends were to log in now they would be looking at 5+ years, which is more than enough time for them to save up. International adoption is expensive, that is just a fact that they will have to accept. If they feel they cannot afford the fees, then I would suggest looking into foster care in their own town. We adopted our second child just last month and the fees were very inexpensive. Your friends need to sit down and really figure out what it is they want and why the want it.

Cool Hal

To get that whole warm fuzzy feeling that adoption gives - sponsor a child in China, or East Africa or Cambodia or some other third world country. You pay around $25 and they get to stay with their family, go to school, become educated and improve the lives of those around.

There is no need to rip a child from their family, fly them thousands of miles to a country that they dont speak the language, eat the food, understand the culture or recognise anything about it.

They can write and receive letters and know that they are not destroying families, communities or destroy childrens lifes because you have more money.

crazychickizback

They should check out if their church can help them. Most will offer some form of assistance. If they belong to a small church, or no church at all, they can join a large one for the best chance of help. They can also ask if they can hold fundraisers in their school. They may even be able to educate the kids on what kind of conditions the child would be escaping. They can do all kinds of things. Tupperware parties, candle parties, etc. and they'll clean up good if they tell everyone where the money will be going. And it would be a fantastic thing to get a child out of China and don't let anyone on here tell you otherwise.

Independ"ant"

Ask yourself why there is a correlation with high fees to buy a baby and an a high demand for babies.

Hint: Supply vs. demand

Tell them there are children waiting in the foster care system and they won't have to pay much for them. If they insist on international tell them that there are children with medical problems being passed over, it won't cost them as much.

Adoption isn't a right its a privilege and beggars shouldn't be choosy. If they won't lower their expectations, tell them do to the right thing and sponsor families so more kids don't end up being sold to foreign strangers.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: