texas cost to adopt?

Hello, If you are going through an adoption agency, they all have different rates, you just have to start asking what they charge. I would say that in general, you would probably need about 10K, but like I said, it varies, plus it depends on if you are willing to take a child with special needs, sometimes the cost is less. Good luck! LBL:)

My husband and I are also are trying to adopt in Texas. I haven't been able to find any private adoption agency fees close to $10,000 I would like to know where they are? Is this for Infants? Does anyone know a good agency or attorney in the Dallas/Ft Worth Area? HELP!:confused:

We adopted through Texas, though we're from Virginia - Ryan's bmom reunited with his bdad and moved back to Texas before he was born. We didn't use a Texas agency, only an attorney there, and our agency & attorney here. Total cost was $14,000 including travel, advertising expenses, etc. About $3500 of that was attorney and court fees in Texas (Houston area). HTH Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas

We have been selected by CPS for a healthy 4 month old. We completed our homestudy in July and were told our wait might be lengthy. But...we'll pick up our little one next week. Any legal fees will be reimbursed by the state. So...we are adopting a baby at no cost. It can be done if you are patient and open to fostering first.

Hi, we used Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services in Dallas. We waited 7 months for placement. We total cost with attorney was $12650. They are on a sliding scale based on your income with $12000 being the minimum. They offer a loan program, I know it has changed since we adopted two years ago so I can't say much about it! They are wonderful to work with,will always answer all of your questions, return calls and emails quickly, and are truely compassionate for everyone invlolved. I know they are always in desperate need of families willing to adopt full AA babies. The cost DRASTICALLY lower if you are willing to adopt full AA. I have sent several families info on Buckner and some were turned off by the fact that they will only work with families who are willing to be a part of an open adoption, so keep that in mind. You also must be a practicing Christian. I hope this helps!!!

From my search, I have found a few agencies in Texas that have fees 10,000 or below. Both Bethany and Buckner quoted me 20,000 for a full AA infant. They say they are in dire need of AA couple to adopt (which is me and my hubby), but were not willing to negotiate on the fees, so I wonder......! We have selected Alternative in Motion in Houston ([url]www.aimadoptions.com[/url])- you have to be a Christian and the fee is 9,500. We really like them so far. The Director is great..and all of the staff has been involved in the adoption process in some form or fashion (i.e. birthmothers, adoptees, or adoptive parents). Other agencies with reasonable fee are Lutheran Social Services (fee's range from 4,000-10,000 on a sliding scale), and Catholic Charities (you don't have to be Catholic) Marks Homes of Houston is another (I can't remember the fees,but were reasonable). A fantastic attorney is David Cole in Dallas. He is a highly recommended attorney has has established an agency in Dallas (Little Flowers Adoption) [url]www.littlefloweradoptions.com[/url] . I hope this helps...I have a few more...if you want any additional feedback..just let me know

If you adopt through the state, the cost is legal fees only which is approximately $1500. This cost is reimbursed by the state which means you don't pay anything. You have a better chance of getting young children (infants and up) if you go foster/adopt but there is always a chance if you go straight adopt. You can go to an info meeting at your local CPS office with no obligation. They usually have them on set dates and there will be a pretty large group of prospective parents in there. Some to foster, some to foster/adopt, some straight adopt. This meeting will allow you to get answers, pick up a packet with more indepth info and an application, and to meet an actual caseworker. You will also watch a film. If you decide to proceed, you will send in your application then reserve a spot in one of the PRIDE classes. After the classes, you go through your homestudy (scheduled by your assigned caseworker) and complete your family profile. Then you wait for final approval and a match! For private adoption, the costs are much higher (this includes domestic and foreign). You will have to research agencies and attorneys, request an application packet and pay the fees according the agency guidelines. Costs range from $10K - $20K +. These fees are usually paid in installments (preset by the agency) with a lump sum of about $3K - $8K paid at one time (this can vary). Research both ways and then decide what works best for you. Search agencies online. Check out the boards for people's suggestions on different agencies and attorney's. Request info packets (no obligation) so you can look them over in detail and at your leisure with your spouse or partner. Good luck!! You've made a wonderful decision to adopt. I wish you the best. Linda Texas

Wow Linda, Thanks for all the info! LBL

I would almost certainly bet this is an "at risk" adoption since it is rare that parental rights would have been terminated at that age. That places a whole other set of risks there. Brad

Andrew: Thank you so much for sharing that with the rest of us. It brings us so much hope. My husband and I are trying to decided if we should also try foster to adopt. We really weren't sure if there are babies out there to adopt though the state or do they just keep you for fostering with the promise of a baby? Did you also use a private agency or did you go straight thought CPS? Is this a "at risk" adoption? Once again congratulations! and Best Wishes. Barbara

We adopted an older sibling group (2.75 to 7) of four children nine and a half years ago in another state (we now live in Texas). If you can stretch your heart to this, many children like this desperately need homes. If you go the system route, I highly recommend you get and read _Adopting the Hurt Child_ and _Parenting the Hurt Child_ by Keck and Kupecky. They have lots of good insight. I wish I had known all that when I started. You will not get perfection, but you can make a tremendous impact. We are going through a quite tumultuous time now, but it is still worth it. (We have 3 teens and one pre teen, <grin>.) Brad

...we are a foster-to-adopt family, in a "legal-risk" situation with our 4 month old. We have indeed assumed this risk, after much prayer and thoughtful consideration of this particular child's background, fully knowing that even in the worst-case scenario (returning him to birth family) we have opened our hearts and our home to a child who truly needs and deserves unconditional love and affection and who returns it to us tenfold. Please don't belittle or criticize our family's adoption route, but please keep this precious child in your thoughts and prayers.

sdwjones: I am really sorry if I offended you. I thought I was talking to you when I was addressing andrews777 sorry for the confusion. I was confused about "legal-risk." I would never intentional belittle or criticize anyone. especially someone who is opening their hearts and their lives to children who so desperately need people to love them. Like I was saying before I am so happy for you and so happy that you shared it with all of us who are trying to adopt and are contemplating going through the state. Barbara:confused:

I am so sorry Barbara. I wasn't really offended. I guess am pretty sensitive about the "legal-risk" questions I'm getting from friends and family, including, "why would you put yourselves through this?" I guess the answer to that question is that we just couldn't say no. We asked our social worker to steer us only toward babies or young children whose legal risks were few or none to save us from potential heartbreak. But we read this file and saw this precious little one and after 2 days of prayer and contemplation, we could not say no. This is our destiny...to love this baby as if he were ours right now and rely on our faith to assure us we are doing the right thing regardless of the end result. Jesus said, "that you do unto the least of my children, you do unto Me." We are doing our best right now to bond with and enjoy our baby without thinking much about the "what ifs." Our situation, by all accounts, seems to be a sure bet (bmom is a very troubled, abused young foster kid who has run away and has not been heard from in many weeks), we are still prayerful that this is the child God has meant for us and we are the forever family God has meant for him. We also pray for the safety and well-being of bmom. She has brought to life this wonderful child and I honor her and praise God for her as well.

I am not sure who you felt "belittled" your choice, but if it was me I must have come across wrong. I just wanted to correct the idea that some might get out of the situation that infants are freely available for adoption. It takes 1-2 years (I am not current on the exact time frames) for parental rights to be fully termiated. Thus any child under that will inherently be "at risk." Of course this is still a wonderful place to work in foster care, and if you can live with the possible turmoil, it can have a great impact on a child no matter what. The books I recommend are about children coming from "the system." No child can go through that without being "hurt" in some way, even if they are an infant. One other factor I encourage consideration of is the status of siblings. From all that I have learned in the adoption area, breaking up sibling groups is generally not the best route. It may be necessary, but it makes for other problems down the line. Of course adopting a sibling group makes for a whole other set if issues. :) Brad