Adoption from foster care costs

I hear from a lot of people that adopting from foster care is "virtually free". But what exactly does 'virtually' mean? Are there any kind of legal fees?

By virtually free...they mean free unless there are extenuating circumstances. You need to hire an attorney, have fingerprints done and have a home study done. However, states reimburse you up to a certain amount. Barring any unforeseen issues, it will be enough to cover all of these costs. In my particular situation, the State of Maine reimburses up to $2000 which would have been more than enough to cover the adoption fees, fingerprints, etc. (home studies done by the state are free btw), but we are also dealing with a custody issue with the adoptive mother of Wheels' older brother. Therefore, we have incurred significant legal fees to fight that battle...and so our adoption isn't free, virtually or otherwise. But, it did cost us $2000 less than it would have without the subsidy.Also, when you adopt, you are entitled to a tax credit. Of course this only effects you if you owe taxes because it is non-refundable.

In NY, it only cost if you use your own attorney. The homestudy and fingerprinting were done before I was licensed. For the adoption, I was given a list of names and the county pays their fee.