Adoptive Family Articles
The Costs of Adopting

Many couples are often overwhelmed by the cost when they begin looking into adoption. There are many factors that contribute to the cost of an adoption, including the cost of the necessary legal work, advertising fees, travel expenses, etc.     

Both domestic and international adoption have their own unique costs. For example, couples adopting domestically will not have to worry about the cost of a visa, which couples adopting internationally much budget for. Likewise, couples adopting domestically may be asked to provide living expenses for the expectant mother, such as help with rent or utility payments, an expense that is not typically seen in international adoptions.



Why Does Private Adoption Cost So Much Money?

Below is an itemization of possible expenses for many adoptions. There is much more involved with the adoption process than many people initially realize. This is provided as a breakdown to give couples an understanding of the services involved and costs accumulated for adoption services.




Why Does American Adoptions Cost More?

Below are nine reasons why American Adoptions costs more than other professionals followed by a series of questions you can ask any professional.

  1. Support - American Adoptions provides 24 hour, seven days a week support to our birth mothers. This allows better availability to help these birth mothers decide what is the best choice for their baby.
  2. List management - Other professionals rarely monitor their adoptive family waiting list. This means they will often accept many more families on their list than they are able to place babies with. This is a chronic hidden problem in the adoption field. Because of poor list management, most agencies will sign up twice as many families than completed adoptions.
  3. Accuracy of costs - Many professionals estimate adoption expenses far lower than what they typically experience. This leads many families expecting to pay less only to be shocked at time of placement or when an adoption doesn’t work out. Every year, we calculate the amount of our adoptions and thereby provide accurate estimates.
  4. Protection from many hidden risks - Some professionals charge hourly for their services. This can provide a false estimate of actual total expenses. For example, a prominent adoption attorney currently estimates his fees at $16,000 to $20,000 for a successful adoption. The $20,000 fee estimate however does not include his legal expenses for providing legal services for birth mothers who do not choose adoption. In these cases, his legal expenses can reach $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 in addition to the successful adoption expense estimates.  American Adoptions covers many of the fees at risk should an adoption prove unsuccessful, thereby protecting our clients from many of the financial risks associated with adoption.  When a professional’s fees are at risk, it is very important to determine their experience, client satisfaction, and success rate. It is not uncommon for families to lose thousands of dollars before determining their adoption professional is small, inexperienced, or not that good.



State Adoption Costs

When deciding between a state and private adoption, the first thing many couples investigate is the cost. They look at the price tag of each option and see that while private adoption can become pricy, most state adoptions require very little money.

While there is very little financial investment, there are two major expenses required by foster care parents and adoptive parents hoping to adopt through the state: time and an emotional investment. Those who have plenty of each may find adopting through the State to be very attractive.




Adoption Tax Credit
Many potential adoptive parents are discovering that adopting a child can put a serious strain on family finances. There are two tax benefits to offset the expenses of adopting a child: the adoption tax credit and an exclusion from income of benefits under an employer's adoption assistance program.


Protecting Yourself from Fees at Risk

American Adoptions fee structure helps absorb many of the expenses at risk for our adoptive families.  Essentially, we protect you from many of the financial losses you would experience through other proffesionals.




Financial Resources

When researching the many steps, avenues and choices in adoption, families often find themselves overwhelmed and confused about many aspects of the adoption process. For many families, the task of setting an adoption budget and determining how to finance their adoption costs is one of the most confusing - and important - steps in their adoption journey.

Families considering adoption should consider several important factors when determining their adoption budget:




Living Expenses - Why?
For some adoptive families, the concept of financially assisting their future baby’s birth mother is, at first, hard to fully embrace. You may find yourself wondering why you should be expected to help her pay for her medical or living expenses. This is a completely normal, understandable reaction.
 
But before you think of a birth mother’s expenses as rightfully hers, consider this: If your baby were inside of you, instead, what would you do?
 
The birth mother who has chosen you has also made the selfless decision to choose adoption for her child. While the decision to place a child for adoption is as unique as each individual, financial inability to adequately provide for a child is often a major motivation. Through the decision to adopt, some women realize they have the potential to choose for their child the type of life they could only dream of providing.
 
While babies are unfortunately raised worldwide in less-than-adequate conditions, and many amazing women somehow find the means to do so, it takes resources and access to proper care to provide for a child.
 
Raising a baby begins long before birth, in utero. In fact, this most critical time of development is more important than perhaps any other point in a child’s life.
 



Federal Family and Medical Leave Act

Unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act is available for adoptive families. This act allows individuals to take up to 12 weeks off, unpaid but with benefits, without jeopardizing employment.




Employer-Provided Adoption Benefits

Introduction

A growing number of employers offer benefits to adoptive parents. In 1990, a survey by Hewitt Associates found that only 12 percent of employers surveyed offered some kind of adoption benefits; by 1995, the proportion had climbed to 23 percent. In the 2004 Hewitt survey of 936 major U.S. employers, the percentage grew to 39 percent, with an average maximum reimbursement of $3,879 for adoption expenses.¹ Employers that offer adoption benefits cite various advantages for their companies, including maintenance of productivity, retention of good employees, a positive public image, and equity in benefits for all employees.

Employer-sponsored adoption benefits take many forms. This fact sheet examines:

  • What types of benefits do employers offer to help with adoption?
  • What are the eligibility criteria and conditions for receiving adoption benefits?
  • Which employers offer adoption benefits?



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