Wanting to adopt!?

Question

What is the cheapest way to adopt. They say you need at least 20 grand to even think about it. We want to do this but dont have the funds to do that. Any ideas?

Answer 1

When you adopt through foster care you're going to find alot of special needs cases which could range from medical, emotional or sib groups (yes, they consider sib groups special needs).

If you are wanting to adopt a baby however, foster care isn't the way to go and yes, it's going to cost to go through an agency or a lawyer to represent you in an independent adoption.  Even through the state there is usually a fee regarding your homestudy, court costs and filing fees. There is no such thing as a "free" adoption.

My son is almost a year old and we did independent adoption when he was born.  Regardless of what way you go you will still need a homestudy, background check and court fees that will all fall to you for paying. Some of those are not cheap to do. A homestudy could run as little as $1000 to as much as $2500 depending on who does it and where you are. Court fees are usually around a couple hundred dollars. Background checks can be as high as $50 each if they require electronic filing for them or free from your police department (if they don't want electronic FBI check).  The type of background check you will need depends on the adoption and legal requirements involved. there may also be medical information and exams required in some adoptions which is another expense that YOU get to pay. Some states will allow submission of your medical records in place of an exam. When we adopted our son my hubby and I did that rather than a full physical to submit.  

You may also check into whether or not your or your husbands employer provides adoption assistance for employees. My husbands company did.  Many employers are starting to do this so it is worth looking into.  There are also grants you can get through shoahannahs hope and similar foundations. You can find them online.

Most adoptions are going to require that you have a minimum of $10,000 per year/per person living in the home in income- and that includes the potential adopted child that will be living with you, but it doesn't mean the adoption is free.

Answer 2

I always thought that adoption say through an agency like Centacare or somewhere like that, it wasn't the initial funds, it was more toward your ability to make money in order to properly supply for the child. I'm not sure if this is correct, but my adoptive family always told me they didn't have to pay any money, but they had to prove their ability to earn enough to support the child.

By the way, do yu mean initially, like a payment sort of thing, or maybe job-wise? And are you perhaps confusing it with surrogacy?

Answer 3

this is just really sad.  buying a kid.

i was bought.  it's so sick.

can you get a puppy instead?  the adoption fees are cheaper.

Answer 4

Costs do vary but I think on average it costs the adoptee a complete sense of self and shatters the ability to love unconditionally, while depleting the stores of trust. It costs feeling acceptance, and having one's natural abilities and traits modeled.

For the mother of adoption loss it can cost her future fertility, confidence, self-esteem. Sometimes it costs her severe depression and lack of trust in others. There is a toll of resentment her family may bear for not helping her keep her baby.

For the adoptive parents, usually it's just a bunch of money. Oh and some paperwork.

Answer 5

If you can't foster parent b/c you "both work", how on earth do you propose to PARENT while you both work?  WTF?  Foster kids deserve a stay at home mommy, but an adopted child doesn't?  Oh yeah...you're ready to be a mommy!  Your house is paid for, yet you still can't afford to stay home or work part time?  

Why don't you "adopt" a child in another country by sending money to an organization like Christian Children's Fund? Your money goes much farther in, say, Africa and can provide a meaningful means of support to a child while allowing them to stay with their family (what a concept...I know!).  Your "child" can even send you photos, letters, updates!  It's just like an "open adoption". =D   Isn't that great!  {{{hint of sarcasm}}}

Adoptionissickandsad has the best answer as to the FULL cost of adoption. Not that anyone really wants to hear the cost to adoptees or first moms.  You all only want to know what it will cost the prospective adopters.  Whatev.  

100 Thumbs up to AIS&S, and all my other peeps...

Answer 6

I don't get the sarcasm. Yes, the question was poorly phrased. It doesn't mean that the motive is a bad one. My daughter was a 6 year old RAD child. She was extremely wild when I first got her. She had tantrums, broke doors, damaged my belongings, physically attacked me and scarred me in a couple of areas. She did not think that anyone loved her so she didn't worry about behaving. She was a gifted thief, liar and con artist. Because my children were so needy, I had to quit my 29k a year job to be with them. They caused a rift in my family that had never been there before (RAD kids are renowned for knowing how to work a crowd and make the parent look like she is crazy.) Yet I kept them both. Now they are fairly obedient girls that know that someone loves them, even when they are acting horrendously. They have futures that prayerfully won't include jail time. They know that I want them to do well when they grow up, be responsible citizens, go to college to learn a fulfilling career, get married and have kids. They didn't have that before.

While some adoptees have had a rough time of it, it's certainly no picnic for the adoptive parents. It's a commitment to love kids through their rough beginnings. It's extremely hard to be on the receiving end of attitudes and hostility that you had nothing to do with developing.

Answer 7

If you will take an older child the best bet is probably the FCS or the fos to adopt program. In which you would only be placed with a child(ren) that would most likely become available for adoption and you all would agree to adopt that child(ren) once they become available for adoption.  Plus it the cheapest form of adoption I believe sometimes the only cost would be court fees/ attorney.  In the Fos to adopt you would have to become foster parents, not the case if your just adopting from FCS.  In some cases you might even get money till the child turns 18. I have even heard that sometimes a state will pay or help pay for a child adopted from foster care to go to college. I don’t know if that’s true though, so don’t quote me.

I found this website you might check it out

A child’s waiting  Adoption program

http://www.achildswaiting.com/adoptive_p...

I don’t think the program is specifically FCS however it is about waiting children some older, siblings groups etc.

Low or No Cost Adoption Options

Domestic Waiting Older Child Program

(Program I, State and/or Family Funded)

Families interested in Programs I are only considered for children aged 7 years and older that are currently in the foster care system for a permanent family.

Domestic Waiting Younger Child Program

(Program II, State and/or Family Funded)

This program is designed for families wishing to adopt younger children, or sibling group that include a child 0-5. Families interested in this program are considered for children that are in the public system both in Ohio and throughout the U.S.

Answer 8

Foster care.  You don't have to be a foster parent (although it's usually a good idea).  Adoption through foster care is free (depending on state).  You'll be giving a home to a child who actually needs one.  

On a side note, you're going to get a lot of comments about how adoption isn't about you, it's about the child.  Please take the time to work out your own issues before deciding to adopt.  Whatever your reasons for wanting to adopt, the #1 reason needs to be the child.  If any of your reasons include, "I want" or "I can't", then you've got some work to do.  Filling your void is a huge job to give a child, and it's not fair to a child who needs adults who are capable of providing for their own needs, and the needs of their child(ren).

Also, please do some research on the effects of adoption on the adoptee.  Raising an adopted child is not like raising your own child.  When a child is adopted, they automatically have trauma that they need to sift through, and that will take their entire life.  If you're still concerned about your own losses (i.e. infertility, if that's an issue for you), then you're not going to be emotionally present to help your child with his or her grief process.

Good luck!

Answer 9

I am in the process of adopting a child that is a ward of the county (Los Angeles). We started the process when she was 1 1/2 years old. It does not cost us one cent , in fact they pay us once a month, even after the adoption is final and until she is eighteen.

In L.A. they try to encourage adoptions of children in the "system" and it is not just toddlers and older children that are waiting for adoptions. My brother adopted a newborn and later a nine month old from the county. Good luck and many blessings on your journey.

Answer 10

Adopting a child from foster care is the way to go.  There are many, many children in foster care whose parents have either relinquished them or had their parental rights terminated by the courts.  These children need families.  As people have stated, there aren't the costs associated with private or agency adoptions.

Gaia has some great suggestions about learning the various issues that can exist in adoption.

Answer 11

Adopting thru foster care is the "cheapest", in fact almost always it is free. I live in California and I have been a foster parent since 2005. I got my son when he was 4 months old and my daughter when she was 8 mos old.  I adopted them. It's been great. They have children of all ages, from newborn up. They even have babies that are "Safe surrender" or given up at birth. Its easy to become a foster parent, you can go to your cities local DHS, and they can get you started. They are so many children that are in desperate need of love and a family. Good luck. Hope this helps!

Answer 12

It depends where from you adopt. Call an agency, and talk to them and they will recomend what will be best for you. Yes, it can climb up to 20 grand to adopt.

Answer 13

you should think about adoping a child that already exists in foster care it does not cost 20 grand to adopt that waY

Answer 14

Sorry, but adoption is not something you just "hop to".  It takes a lot of time, effort, planning, and preparation.

And, if you do not have time to foster, you don't have time to parent at all.  Please think this through before you make any decisions.  Children have to come first, and you need time more than anything.  Think it through before you start the process, and then be prepared for a long and tedious process.  If it's what you truly want, it will be so worth it!