Average price for adopting?

Question

I am interested in possibly adopting. I was just wondering if anyone knew about where an adoption runs in terms of cost? Also, how do you go about adopting? And what rights do the biological parents have if you adopt?

Answer 1

Most private adoptions are between 10K-40K and involve infants and young children, but many state adoptions (through foster care) are 0-$2000 and involve older school aged children, siblings, or very special needs babies and children (severel developmental delays, extreme medical issues, etc.)

Adoption fees are for all the services the agency provides to every birthmother helped.

Most full service licensed adoption agencies receive calls from hundreds of women a year. They may provide these women and their children with counseling, emergency food, clothing, formula and diapers, taxi fare, doctor visits, etc. and these are just the women who are NOT placing their babies for adoption.

And then there's the birthmothers who get housing paid for for 10 months, along with all their utilities, groceries, clothing, transportation, medical care, etc., and then choose to PARENT their babies.

Then there are the cases where a baby has been placed for adoption already, and the birthmother or birthfather then comes back before the adoption is finalized and tries to get custody of the baby from the adoptive parents. It often takes 1 - 2 years of court hearings and trials before the case is settled.

And then, there are the special needs babies that the agency reduces or eliminates the adoption fee for, so they may be adopted. These babies may have HIV, born with no brain, born blind or very ill.

And of course, there are the birthmothers who DO place their babies for adoption, and may recieve all the above mentioned -- housing, groceries, clothing, utilities, transportation, medical care, etc.

The agency pays for all of this. That is why adoption fees are so high. And if your adoption fails, good agencies try to absorb that financial loss, too - not the adoptive parent.

And then there are the lawyers. Agencies have to hire an attorney to represent the baby, one for the birthmother, and one for each named possible birthfathers. Sometimes a diligent search is conducted to find the birthfather, and sometimes a private detective has to be hired, too.

And there is office rent, phones, salaries, office supplies, etc.

You see, you do not pay JUST for YOUR child's birthmothers expenses and that is it. The expenses have to be paid for ALL birthmothers, so that those who do choose to place their baby for adoption, can. This is what it really takes to keep those doors open and those calls answered. That is where that fee goes.

Timeframe? With international adoptions taking longer and longer, domestic adoption agencies are getting more applicants, so the wait time is now getting longer, too. Expect 1-3 years on an average.

Biological parents relinquish their parental rights -- that'swhat adoption is.  You go through court and finalize your adoption and then your child is morally, ethically, physically and legally yours from that day forward!

Hope that helps! Good luck to you!

And if you are able to parent to school aged children, why not go through the foster care systems?

Answer 2

I do not remember where I heard this, but I remember hearing something about $40,000 dollars a year.

Answer 3

i dont no

Answer 4

biological parents have no legal rights to a child once the child has been adopted. This is true no matter what kind of arrangements (open adoption, closed adoption, identified adoption, etc.) you make with the birth parents. Adoptive parents have complete responsibility and all the rights of any parents according to US law. They become the child's parents in every respect and the biological parent's rights are ended in every respect.

The cost varies tremendously depending on from where you adopt and the age of the child. The child's health and race may also enter into the cost. If you use an agency versus a private adoption, the cost is changed as well. For a healthy, caucasian, American newborn the cost is probably close to $50,000 minimum.

Answer 5

if you adopt through the foster care system they will pay all costs and pay you once you foster and adopt.

it depends on if you are doing a private adoption or a foster care adoption, if you adopt through foster care generally the rights have been taken away from the parents.

if you do private adoption it just depends on what you and the bio parents decide on. these adoptions run anywhere from 4k-10k some of it is tax deductable and some of it some insurance companies will pay for. just depends.

Answer 6

The costs vary widely depending on many of the factors listed in previous answers, but there are always exceptions. Don't let the numbers scare you. Many agencies base fees on a sliding scale, and adopting through the child welfare system can be free. I know of a L*****n couple who have adopted three healthy newborns in 2 years through their county's foster system, so even that is a possibility. I know of many more who have adopted healthy newborns for far less than 40-50k....though limited to a few dozen people, in my observations the average cost is about 25k for Domestic newborn.

Our son's bparents found us through a friend of a friend, only asked for minimal expenses (to avoid feeling obligated which was smart on their part), and we used attorneys. Even with 3 attorneys, travel costs, homestudy fees etc. we spent less than 10k...and our son is healthy and Caucasian and we took custody when he was a newborn.

The bio parents rights are terminated through voluntary relinquishment, and we are fully the legal parents now. We choose to maintain relationships however, to the enrichment of us all.

Answer 7

Private adoption in the United States can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take years.  The biological parents, in some cases, can possibly come back and try to reclaim the child (I know someone that this personally happened to in one of their three adoptions).  I think most private adoptions of a newborn infant average $30,000.

International adoption deletes any worry about biological parents, and is a somewhat more streamlined process (it can also take years in some cases, depending on country, but some countries are less than one year).  International adoption averages about $20,000 I believe.

Another option is to adopt through foster care.  The parents rights have been terminated through the courts, and it is unlikely that they will be able to reclaim their rights.  The cost is minimal, if any.  The wait depends on the child you are looking for-a healthy infant will take longer than an older child and there are more minority children available than there are white children.  You can either be a foster parent that adopts (but all children will not become adoptable, and it may be heartbreaking to return a child you have grown to love) or you can accept children that have already had their parental rights terminated and are free for adoption.  A social worker in your county/state can give you more details.

Adoption is a wonderful thing.  We have two biological children and are currently expecting our third, but we intend to adopt one or two little girls from China in the relatively near future.