Adoption tax credit vs foster to adopt stipend?

Question

In my last question I asked about foster to adopt programs and why so many people want to adopt from the system straight off the bat without serving the foster program first.

I got an incredibly rude answer off one person, informing me that as a foster parent who has adopted one foster child, with another adoption in the pipeline, I shouldn't receive my monthly stipend to pay for my foster children's upkeep. For the record my husband earns excellent money and we no longer accept a stipend once the children are permanently in our care-this is done so our children don't feel we are being paid to have them.

My question is, how dare somebody imply that foster parents are 'paid' to have these children, when they as adoptive parents get a huge tax credit for adopting?

Answer 1

MY MOTHER WAS AN FOSTER MOTHER YEARS AGO AND SHE ALWAYS INSISTS IT WASN'T ABOUT THE MONEY. SHE USED HER OWN MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAD THE SAME AMOUNT OF XMAS/BIRTHDAY PRESSIES LIKE ME AND MY BROTHERS. SHE HAD MY 2 FOSTER BROTHERS FOR 11 YEARS AND THEY WERE NEVER TREATED ANY DIFFERENT. MUM HAD A SMALL PAYMENT FOR THEM FOR CLOTHES ETC BUT TOPPED IT UP WITH HER MONEY. SHE HAD NO CHOICE TO ACCEPT THE MONEY AS THIS WAS OVER 20 YEARS AGO AND MY DAD DIDN'T EARN MUCH. THAT DIDN'T MEAN THEY WERE ANY LESS LOVED OR WANTED. PEOPLE GET MONEY FOR THEIR NATURAL CHILDREN THESE DAYS(CHILD BENEFIT AND TAX CREDITS). YOU ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB AND THERE SHOULD BE MORE LIKE YOU

Answer 2

How rude of them.  Personally I admire anyone who fosters children, the kids who are genuinely in need of loving homes

The majority of people I've come across are pissing and moaning because it's too 'expensive' and 'takes too long' to 'get' a baybeeeeee

You don't have to explain yourself to hypocrites.  If you have a clear conscience and your heart is in the right place, just ignore the idiots

Dear Sarah c:  We're talking USA adoption here.  Things are different in the UK where you say you are from

Answer 3

Snickette, that's awful that someone would say that to you but I bet it wasn't an adoptive parent, just another troll posing as one. I can't speak for the foster stipend but I can say that the adoption tax credit isn't huge and certainly doesn't offset the costs. The tax credit was intended to stop penalizing adoptive families whilst endorsing "regular" families". Wealthy or not, you have every right to this stipend if you foster and the tax credit if you adopt. I don't begrudge my tax dollars going to help foster children and families, at all.

If someone implied that foster parents are "paid to have these children" that was cruel and meant to keep the problems festering in this forum. I'm sorry someone said that to you.  That was very cruel and unfair.

I apologize Florida. Thanks for the link. No you didn't say that. Maybe it was just the last part of your post that was misconstrued. As for those who accused you and the rest of us adoptive parents for soliciting for babies, it's the trolls and they are causing all of this in-fighting and forcing people to take sides. Both you and Snickette are right. Please don't let this anti-adoption gang of trolls cause dissension between the two of you.

Answer 4

Just ignore them, some people feel that they are better than others because they do something they feel is better than or because they have had a bad experiance in life.

If you continue to get the stipened or not is nobodys business and is it really that diffrent than a parent getting the child tax credit or any other government payment for having a child in your home? It is nobodys business but yours. You know how much you love your child and that is all that matters. Seems like there is a lot of people against adoption on here regardless if you adopt through the system or not.

Besides I don't know how much you get in the states, but the monthly payments in my provance are only about $420 for a infant/toddler (or $4 and change per diem)! That is not near enough to even cover all the costs (diapers, formula, clothes,food, toys/books) let alone make an income on, the stipend is to offset the cost not cover and go beyond the cost. I have no clue how the always talked about foster parents that do it for an income even get an income out of it. The majority actually put money into these children not earn money, so I would think it is pretty offensive if someone told me I was doing it for the money.

Answer 5

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Here's the link to that question.

AND NOONE SAID YOU DID IT FOR THE MONEY!!!

It's like saying that if you didn't get the epidural then you didn't have enough labor...

the point I was making was that YOU'RE the one who thinks the ONLY your was is right. the the REST of us are just selfish (and you're right WE ALL ARE). The tax credit is just a drop in the bucket and I never calimed to be a hero "Serving" a cause. If you had a family friend come up and ask you to adopt their baby to be.... would you realy say no? Of course not.

IF you were a mom looking to place wouldn't you want you baby to go to the family you have chosen and let then get settled it ASAP?  My son's b-mom was worried I wouldn't want him when he was born, because he was sick and she didn't want him to go into foster care.... ABOVE ALL birthmothers should decide whan happens to their babies.

Truely, I'm sorry if I was offencive, but please realize that there many diferent kinds of adoptions for different kind of needs. When I was asked to adopt my son, I wasn't actively looking, but I was very willing to. That doesn't make me a baby-hungry person shoppin' for a child.

Answer 6

oK, ALL....HOW MANY OF US HAVE SAID....WE CANT AFFORD TO HAVE ANOTHER CHILD...WE ARE DONE HAVING KIDS--TWO KIDS ARE ENOUGH...

But...if we were asked to take in a sibling group of three children and couldnt afford to even have another child of our own then how could we do it...we couldnt....

And that is why they created the assistance to help those that were willing to open their hearts and homes but didnt have the monies to support their hearts....

YES...there are BAD foster homes...that is why I chose to be a foster parent since I was a child...I knew I wanted to be a foster parent --cause my cousins were put in BAD foster homes and I vowed to create a GOOD place for kids in need to go...

Hope this Helps...

Answer 7

There are a need in every state for foster parents. In Texas they get around 4 hundred a month for each child the same as child support which isn't much. They get more if the child is handicap which takes more money to take care of.

  There are sorry foster parents and good ones. You hear about the bad ones when you see on the news where they are kept in cages or dead at the hands of the foster parent or some one close to the foster parents.

  Your right .You do get more if you adopt than if you foster a child. That is why agency's should be regulated on how much the adoption agency should get for each child and get this most adoption agency don't even pay for the medical expense to have the child tax payers do.

   Also isn't it funny that most children adopted out of the foster program are under six years old. And the older ones get moved around from one Foster care to another for these truly are unwanted children.

God bless you and your family for making a difference in your children's liefs, They will always remember you and your kindness

Answer 8

there is no speacial money for adopting. I have never herd of tax credits for adopting. Its  not about the money anyway!!

Answer 9

There is nothing wrong with taking the stipend, or the tax credit.  People who say the only reason people foster is for the payment, or adopt for the tax credit are idiots.  Neither begins to cover the cost of caring for a child and most foster and adoptive parents I know use the money to off set expenses or spend it directly for the children.

Sure, there are some people who are 'professional' foster parents, but I believe most are good people looking to make the world a better place.

Answer 10

i know that most foster parents don't foster to get a monthly stipened. Please ignore that person that made the rude comment. From experince I ran across only one person that used foster care as a source of income. I work in the financial industry and anyway, when I asked someone about their decline of income. The comment given to me was "oh, i lost some foster kids and i haven't found any yet to make up the lost income." Which to me I thought was very rude, because it casts a bad shadow on people like you who are doing it for the right reason.  If you feel you are fostering for the right reasons, then continue to open up your home. There are many kids in need of a loving home.