October 27, 2006

Adoption budget

Megan, can you please explain to us again how the budget works. Our current match budget is $21,000, but as we have discussed, we could accept a match up to $25,000 pretty comfortably. We want to get as much exposure to birth parents as possible, but we hesitate to increase our budget knowing that you would still contact us if a match were to exceed our current budget. Of course we hope to stay closer to the $20,000 mark. Can you tell me again what the benefits are to increasing it as opposed to leaving it where it is? Thanks!

I would be glad to explain how the budget works for you. There are several factors to consider when setting your budget. First, every family should set their match budget at a place that is comfortable for them…for example, it will do no good for a family to set their match budget at $30,000 if there is no way that they will be able to come up with that amount should a match present itself in that amount. With that said, every family should strive to set their budget as high as they can because it makes a definite impact on the exposure they will receive to potential birth parents.

Here is how it works:

When a birth mother initially views family profiles, our agency will determine if her situation will call for a Traditional 1 or a Traditional 2 family. We will estimate the expenses for the adoption at that time and will send her profiles that fit into what we think the adoption will cost based on general information provided such as the state the birth mother lives in, her medical insurance situation and her current living expense need. At this point, it can be too early to provide an exact estimate, but we do the best we can given the information we have at that time. If our initial estimate does not fit within the program you joined with our agency, your profile will not be shown to that specific birth mother.

If a birth mother selects your profile, her birth parent specialist will figure the cost of the match more in depth. Sometimes the birth mother’s situation changes between the time she view profiles and when she is ready to be placed into a match. Because some birth mothers view profiles on our website and can’t possibly know which family matches with her budget needs, matches that don’t necessarily fit within your budget can be presented to your family. If the estimated cost is within your budget or even if it exceeds your budget by up to approximately $4,000, the birth parent specialist will contact you and present the match leaving it up to your discretion to move forward or decline the match. If it is within your budget and everything else matches your APQ, we do consider it already a match for your family. If it does not match with your APQ in any area, including your budget, you do have the right to decline the match.

Now, here is a scenario where setting your budget lower than you can actually go is not beneficial. Often a birth parent specialist will look for families to show a birth mother who has not selected a family yet who is further into the process. Often, she can estimate what the costs for this match are going to be. If she knows that the match is going to be at least $24,000, the families that will pull up first as matches are those who have a budget of $24,000 or higher. So, in this incident, you would not get exposure to this birth mother if you have kept your budget at it’s current level of $21,000. This scenario happens often so it is very beneficial to set your budget as high as you comfortably can knowing that it gets you as much exposure as possible and still have the ability to turn down a match should it exceed that budget.

Often families ask about the real difference between Traditional 1 and Traditional 2. The reality is that Traditional 2 families receive more exposure to potential birth parents simply because of their budget. If a birth mother is looking for very specific characteristics in a family and her match financial needs fall into the Traditional 2 range, she will only be able to view families whose budget fits, so this gives those families an advantage because she will not have as many choices and they get this exposure. However, if a birth mother is particular and looking for specific characteristics but her match financial needs fall into the Traditional 1 range, she will be able to view those families, but also be able to view Traditional 2 families who match. Every $1,000 a family is able to increase their budget, they are able to be shown to 1-5 more birth mothers each month. So, yes, where you set your budget is very important so make sure you are being as flexible as possible on your APQ.

On the flip side, remember that it does not just come down to budget. A family could have the highest budget possible, but be extremely restrictive in every other area of their APQ and this family could likely wait longer than a family with a low budget who is very open on other areas of their APQ. It is key that every family find a balance and try to be as flexible as possible in every section of their APQ. If a family has more concern about one section of the APQ such as substance usage, they should try to be as flexible and open on the other sections of their APQ. If you have more questions please feel free to email me back or call and we can discuss more. For our other readers, please contact your Adoptive Family Specialist if you want to make any changes to your APQ or have questions. I hope this makes sense and doesn’t cause confusion!