Adoption? How much and just in general how?!?

Question

I'm only 18 so this is just out of curiosity but what is involved when adopting a baby? I cannot have any children of my own and later will want to adopt, just doing research so please don't send hate answers or anything. =]

Answer 1

Usually you have to be 23-25 years old, and the cost can be virtually "0" (through the states foster care system) to $30,000+ (through a private attorney or adoption agency, as  they have to hire all the attorneys, pay for meical care and hospital, and pay for birthmother's housing and support, etc.)  FYI, children you parent, whether through biology or adoption, ARE children of your own!  : )  First lesson in parenting!

Answer 2

You do get a tax credit for adopting which is very helpful, and it goes up this year (to a little over 11k). You can sometimes get adoption assistance from the place that you work(ask your HR dept.).

Answer 3

I'm sure you'll find that most "informed adoptive parents or adoptees" will not or should not send "hate answers", if they do, shame on them.  In any case, you have several years to become informed of so many facets of adoption.  You can start doing research on line.  Also, ask if you can attend adoption seminars in your area, most agencies host them several times a year, and even some, every month. You will need to make some personal decisions, and keep in mind, that these decisions may change in time based on your experiences and your adoption education.

For example...Domestic or International adoption

boy or girl?

newborn , toddler, older child?

race?

would you consider any medical conditions?

drug abuse by birthmother?

do you want an "open" adoption?, if so, how open?

Most agencies will walk you through every step of the process with seminars, meetings, your homestudy process, etc.,  Their costs to you are normally based on your income, a sliding scale. Individuals or Couples that make less money may be on the bottom of the scale, one's that make more, on the top.  Ranges are anywhere from $5000.00 and up to $30,000.00, and some maybe more.  These costs are to pay for the agency fees, social workers, paperwork, lawyers, couseling to the birthmother, etc.,

Take your time. Go to the bookstore or library and read adoption books. The more you know, the better decisions you will be able to make. Good Luck!

Answer 4

It can be a very easy and inexpensive process, or very complicated and costly.  It really depends on the kind of adoption you want to pursue.

If you want to adopt a Caucasian newborn, you should plan on being married.  Very few singles are able to adopt a healthy infant domestically.   You and your husband will have to submit a family profile to an adoption agency, and have a "home study."   Your profile will be presented to birth mothers who are looking to give up their babies for adoption.  A birth mother may select you based on your profile.  This process can take years, because there are as many as 50 couples waiting for each baby.   There is more flexibility if you are willing to adopt a biracial or African American child.  The cost of domestic infant adoption is around $30,000 at this time.

If you wish to adopt internationally, you must be at least 25 years old (30 if you go through China).  Some countries allow single parent adoptions, and some do not.   You must find an agency that has a program in the country you wish to adopt from.  You need a homestudy and immigration approval to be matched with a child (lots of paperwork involved in this process!!!).  Once you have been matched, you usually travel to the country to bring your child home.  Some countries require TWO trips (Russia), and others allow the child to be escorted to the U.S. without you traveling there (Korea).  China is one of the least expensive international programs - with a reputable agency, the cost is about $16,000.  Russia and Kazakhstan are costlier because they require two trips and a longer stay - probably around $30,000.  Guatemala is about $35,000 because of the attorneys involved in the process.

The fastest, least expensive way to adopt is through the foster care system.  They require that you provide a loving, safe home for the child, and that you have sufficient income to support him/her.  Other than that, their requirements are quite flexible - you can be single, g*y, older, younger, don't need to own a home, etc.   There are usually no fees other than the court cost to finalize the adoption.   The down side of this process is that healthy infants are rarely available.  But a co-worker of mine did adopt a beautiful one-year-old girl throught the state.  She has diabetes, which is a very manageable condition.

Answer 5

Why would anyone send you hate answers?  You want to educate yourself -- good for you!

Go to www.adoptivefamilies.com

They are very informative and they have a great magazine.

Good luck!

Answer 6

if you go through a private agency it's expensive and even more expensive if you are looking for an international adoption.  the easiest way is to go through the state or county in which case it is most often free (with training provided and minimal compensation) and you can also try fostering first.

Answer 7

u can always go through DCFS. it's free to adopt.

Answer 8

I thought it would be easy to adopt through social services, but all we've adopted is an increase in headaches.  We requested school aged kids who are available for adoption and all we've gotten are preschool foster kids. One of the kids we've been watching on a web site and praying about...we found out yesterday that he's content in his foster care situation and they're only recruiting for "legal reasons." It's very discouraging.

Answer 9

I think it's great you're asking questions.

A lot varies according to where you are/live.

My sister was adopted.  My wife was adopted.  We found her birthmother and discovered that she, too, was adopted.

Since we started expanding our family, we've begun adopting.  We first adopted a little girl from China in 2004.  We're now in the process to adopt a second girl from China.  Hopefully, after that we will adopt a son.  I'm not sure what we'll do after that.

I actually waited too long to begin adopting.  American domestic adoption typically favors the young.  There's no hard and fast rules, but age can become a hinderance.

One of the biggest problems with domestic adoptions is the inability to guarantee an adoption will happen.  I personally know a guy who went through one failed adoption (the mother changed her mind 7 days after she gave birth -- his family had basically been taking care of the mother and baby from 6 months in the pregnancy until the day she changed her mind) and ended up with a successful 2nd adoption.

Adopting from a foreign country isn't always a guarantee, either.  A reputable foreign adoption agency (or so we thought) dragged us along for close to a year before saying they couldn't help us anymore.  They said we'd never be able to adopt from China.  Since I have a daughter formerly from China, I guess they were wrong.

Adopting isn't something for everyone.  It takes preparation.  It takes commitment.

I've had good and bad experiences with our adoption journeys.  With our second adoption, I did a lot of fundraising so I was in the public eye a lot.  A lot of people don't understand foreign adoptions -- they tend to think that it's really easy to do a domestic adoption.  I even had a woman spit on me for adopting internationally.  I spent a lot of time talking to people who were adopted about why I wasn't adopting domestically.

I applaud your curiosity.

The agency I would recommend would be GWCA at www.gwca.org.  The only bad thing about Chinese adoptions at this point for you personally is that they have a minimum age.  You have to be at least 30 years old.  They do allow single mothers to adopt but there is a waiting list.