Why is the cost of adoption so High when there are lots of orphans that will just grow out the system?

Question

Why is the cost of adoption so High when there are lots of orphans that will just grow out the system?

Answer 1

Most people who want to adopt as  a way of creating a family prefer smaller children, and there aren't enough small children, toddlers, babies.

Why  'smaller children'?

Best to develop a parent/child relationship and give them the best opportunities.  And if they are small, there is still time to  address developmental problems such as attachement disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome,exposure to drugs,  issues with neglect, etc.

The "Free" option:

Adoption from foster care is not that easy ( maybe it is  not the same in all states). The 'genetic parents' have all the rights, but their kids have no rights. There is an emphasis in returning the kids with their biological parents, giving them extra chances even if they have abused the kids.   While this process takes place, the kids do become older and between the abuse,  neglect,  shuttling  back and forth, do suffer more, and can develop  emotional/behavioral  problems.  Not all of them, many are very resilient.  However, it is because of these issues that adoptive parents stay away from older kids in foster care.

My cousin wanted to adopt  one or a group of siblings up to six  year old.   She decided that the best way was to become a foster mother.  Time and time again, her  requests to adopt were not possible because the genetic 'parents' were not fully out of the picture.  These kids that she had formed a relationship would be returned to these addicts and negletful persons, then come back to her.     After a year and a half, this was emotionally too difficult and she quit.  Unfortunately, she didnt' have the money for private adoption. Unfair isn't it?  

Private adoptions:

Yes, supply and demand applies.  Nationally, I don't think the costs are too high if you look at the breakdown for costs ($20000). The problem is that there are so few women giving up their kids, and so many  prospective loving families waiting.    If you think $20K is too much for something so important, think it is just the price of a  car.  But even if all these families are willing to pay, there is still a shortage of babies.

Internationally, even with travel, the costs are too  high. Main reason is having to travel, agency fees, and money paid to in-country facilitators/orphanages.   In some countries, you need to stay there for almost two months,  and then return to pick up the kid.  In other countries, you don't even need to go, or just go a a week.  Having said that,  the adoption agency fees could be cheaper.  And there is corruption in many countries.  But  prospective parents are so desperate to adopt, that they will take several mortagages etc.

Answer 2

If your are interested in adopting the "orphans" in foster care, then you don't have to worry about the cost.  The cost is little to nothing to adopt a child from foster care.  It's the agency adoptions that cost a fortune.

I put the word orphans in quotes because most of the kids in foster care who are available for adoption aren't actually orphans -- their parents are still alive, even though there is no longer a legal parent-child relationship.

Answer 3

In cases of IA, its corruption and high bidding Ap's.

Answer 4

Why are people against abortion when there are already too many orphans?

Lots of stuff about orphans makes no sense.

It also has something to do with the government. When they charge you 100$ to renew a license (give you a ten-cent card with a cent of ink on it) why not charge exorbitant fees for something that's of no value to them?

Answer 5

Adoption through foster care is free. Many countries have similar programs for people wishing to adopt from within their own country. Adoption becomes more expensive when you want international adoptions, infants, or don't want to go through foster care. This is mainly b/c agencies are for-profit....even if they say they are not.

Answer 6

As another poster pointed out in another question, foster care adoption isn't truly "free".  The taxpayers are paying for it.  

Most countries with intercountry programs don't have any kind of social infastructure (like a foster care system) to support children without families.  The cost for this is passed on to the people who adopt overseas.  

Aside from that, there are costs involved for the adoption process itself, the legal paperwork, the steps necessary for adoptees to come to the US, paying for the services of lawyers, social workers, etc. None of this happens for free.  

The question is whether the fees are proportionate to the services involved.  I do think there are people out to make a buck or two.  But it's unrealistic to expect adoption to be completely free of charge: no matter if the expense is covered by one family or a country full of taxpayers.

Answer 7

It's all very complex - but essentially -

It's all about 'supply and demand'.

Most people want healthy white infants.

Or - infants from overseas - where the birth family can't lay claim on the child.

There are over 100,000 children waiting in foster care in the USA for permanent homes.

Yet - people just want a baby.

Adoption from foster care costs next to nothing - and they are the kids that truly need a loving home.

To put it bluntly - mostly - those that want the babies - want to adopt for their own needs - and not the child's.

Those that like to make tons of money - have seen a great market - and therefore charge major fees to adopt the babies.

And most of that money goes to line the pockets of the directors of those agencies.

Sad - isn't it?!

Answer 8

well, actually thousands of people try to adopt from USA public foster care and are turned away... may who do make it through the classes, the checks, etc... wait and wait and wait... and never get to adopt because public social services is so screwed up... many social workers have a god complex... and treat the kids like dirt...

the link has more info about this...

http://www.listeningtoparents.org/index....

Answer 9

To adopt a child in the foster care system, it is generally free.  In fact, sometimes there are supplements to help you pay for it if you adopt through the foster care system for a "hard to place" child.

It costs a lot to adopt either A) a newborn and B) internationally.  Why?  Well for newborns, there actually aren't that many up for adoption compared to mom's wanting them.  Now-a-days most newborn adoptions seem to be done through private agencies and that can drive the price up, but back when I was adopted ( in the '80s), it was free, except for your lawyer to finanlize the adoption.

International adoption has a lot of extra costs because you have to pay for the agency, usually donate some money to the international orphanage, pay for your lawyers, pay for citizenship papers, and sometimes pay for doctor exams in order to make sure the child is okay to travel and all that.  Plus, you pay for all the travelling generally.

Answer 10

the kids in foster care do NOT meet the needs/preference/image/fantasy... that most adoptive parents are looking for.  for most, it's an attempt to parent from birth just as if they'd delivered...for others it a desire to not deal with the problems that "those" children have.

personally, i'd like to see less belly-aching about adoption fees, long wait times and unavailable infants; and more adopting of kids who really NEED parents.

Answer 11

becuause they have to be able to pay the bills that aren't payed for and need extra money to pay for the kids that aren't adopted. also they have to pay tons of fees that some parent's who give up rights and they have tax money to pay for it, but that's not enough, cause they also have to pay case workers and so on...

Answer 12

Not only can adopting a child through the foster care system be very low cost or yes, FREE with TAX REBATES, here in Massachusetts children adopted through the state system are eligable for free college tuitinon to any MA state school which accepts their application. Now THAT's a deal!

I think it's pretty rich that some of the people here are claiming people adopt children for their own needs, not the child's. What an idiotic thing to say! You could say the very same thing about someone who gives birth to a baby. You could even say that's worse... that with so many homeless children in the world, people create carbon copies of themselves to placate their own egos.

For anyone complaining tax payers are paying the brunt of adoption costs that the adoptive parents should really be paying for, that's insane. First of all, each and every one of us is responsible for making sure the future of our nation is a strong one, and the children of today are our country's future. Do you also complain about schools being funded with taxpayers money? Secondly, for every foster child that is adopted, that's one more child given a chance to lead a normal and productive life, and one less child likely to end up being a burden on society for the rest of their life.

Answer 13

because people want to buy a newborn womb-fresh infant whom they can raise "as a child of their own," believing the discredited "blank slate theory" of human personality.  many are willing to pay $25,000 or more in this baby trade.  

Children in foster care do not fit what these people want, so they remain in foster care while  "For every healthy newborn available, there are now almost forty potential parents searching." ("Love for Sale," Adoptive Families magazine).  but these people don't want a child they can't pretend their gave birth to, a child who may remember their original families and/or have emotional problems from abuse or from even the act of having been separated from them (apprehended or surrendered).

Not only that, but most (estimated 70%) of children in foster care are there due to poverty (which is called "neglect") not due to abuse or intentional neglect. i.e. 70% or more of child apprehensions are preventable if social assistance was higher and guaranteed such as in Australia.

Answer 14

All these "orphans" in the "system" are the kids that nobody wants.  You could have one of them for little to nothing.

Now, if you wanted a nice, shiny new baby, that will cost you.  Because that's what EVERYBODY wants.  And they are harder to come by, because women just aren't giving them up like they used to (back in the good ol' days of the 50's, 60's and 70's), so with 50 people vying for every one infant, yep you are going to pay a hefty price for that 7 pound chunk of flesh.

Like Poss said...supply and demand.  Basic economics.