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Adoption Costs (Statistics)

Revision as of 14:26, 11 October 2022 by Admin (Talk | contribs)

Here are some statistics on the cost of adoption from domestic public agency adoption to intercountry private agency adoption.

General Adoption Costs

Domestic Public Agency Adoptions

Most public agencies place only children with special needs, which is defined differently in each state. Up-front fees and expenses range form zero to $2,500, including travel and attorney's fees. Most states, under a federal match program, will reimburse non-recurring adoption expenses up to a set limit (which cannot exceed $2,000). Federal and state adoption subsidies may be available for the ongoing care of children with special physical, mental, or emotional needs; the adoption subsidy agreement must be negotiated and signed before the child's adoption is finalized. However, there is a process whereby adoption subsidy can be applied for or renegotiated after finalization, but only under certain conditions.

For more information, see our factsheet. "Subsidized Adoption." For more information on adoption subsidy, contact NACAC's National Adoption Assistance Training, Resource, and Information Network (NAATRIN) at https://nacac.org/help/adoption-assistance/adoption-assistance-us/state-programs/ The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) staffs a hotline (800/470-6665) for parents, social workers, administrators, and lawyers who have specific questions about Title IV-E Adoption Assistance.

Domestic Private Agency Adoptions

Licensed private agencies charge fees ranging from $4,000 to $30,000, which includes the costs for birth parent counseling, adoptive parent home study and preparation, child's birth expenses, post-placement supervision until the adoption is finalized, and a portion of agency costs for overhead and operating expenses. Some agencies have sliding fee scales based on the family income over the preceding one or more taxable years. Families who locate their own birth parent and find an agency which will provide designated or identified adoption services (such as birth parent counseling and home study and supervision services only) often find this option is less costly.

Domestic Independent Adoptions

Adoptive families who pursue independent adoptions report spending $8,000 to $30,000 and more depending on several factors. Independent adoptions are now allowed in most states, but advertising in newspapers, magazines, etc. seeking birth parents is not allowed in all states. Costs for advertising for birth parents can be in the $5,000 range. Adoptive parents may find that they pay birth parent expenses for birth parents who then change their mind and that money is not reimbursed. Some couples have had more than one arrangement with a birth parent fall through. Some states require that adoptive parents pay for separate legal representation for birth parents, in addition to their own legal representation. If the child has medical difficulties, birth expenses can be much higher.

Intercountry Private Agency or Independent Adoptions

Fees for intercountry adoption range from $7,000 to $25,000, including agency fees, dossier and immigration processing fees, and court costs. However, there may be additional costs for the following items which are usually not included in the fees:

  • Child foster care (usually in South and Central American adoptions).
  • Parents' travel and in-country stay to process the adoption abroad (length of stay or number of required trips varies).
  • Escorting fees, charged when parents do not travel, but instead hire escorts to accompany the child on the flight to the parents' country.
  • Child's medical care and treatment (occasionally in South and Central America).

Estimates for Specific Adoption Costs

Domestic Adoption Costs

The figures listed below are general ranges; differences may be found depending on:

  • Type of adoption
  • Area of the United States where the adoption occurs
  • Whether or not the agency charges a sliding-scale fee based on family income
  • Country of origin of a foreign-born child
  • Amount of State or Federal subsidy available for a child with special needs
  • Federal or State tax credits available for reimbursement of adoption expenses
  • Employer adoption benefits
  • State reimbursement for non-recurring expenses for the adoption of a child with special needs.

Agency fees

  • Application fee: $100 – $500
  • Home study and preparation services: $700 – $2,500
  • Post-placement supervision: $200 – $1,500
  • Parent physical (each parent): $35 – $150
  • Psychiatric evaluation (each parent; if required): $250 – $400

Attorney fees

  • Document preparation: $500 – $2,000
  • Petition and court representation to finalize placement $2,500 $12,000

Advertising: $500 – $5,000

Birth parent expenses (Amount and type of expenses allowable for payment usually restricted by state law and subject to review by the court.)

  • Medical expenses (prenatal, birth/delivery, postnatal for mother; perinatal care for child): $0 (insurance) $10,000 - $20,000 (depending on difficulty of the delivery, etc.)
  • Living expenses (rent, food, clothing, transportation, etc) : $500 – $12,000
  • Legal representation: $500 – $1,500
  • Counseling: $500 – $2,000

Intercountry Adoption Costs

Intercounty adoption costs vary according to the specific laws of the foreign country from which you are adopting. Costs can vary according to many factors, including:

  • Whether the placement entities in the foreign country are government agencies, government subsidized orphanages, charitable foundations, attorneys, facilitators, or any combination of these.
  • Whether the foreign country requires translation and/or authentication of the dossier documents
  • Whether the US agency requires a "donation" to the foreign orphanage or agency
  • Whether the foreign requires one or both adoptive parents to travel to the country for interviews and court hearings; could be more than one or more trips of varying length

INS/State Department fees

  • Filing fee: I-600, I-600A: $405
  • Filing fee: N-643: $125
  • Immigrant visa application fee: $260
  • Immigrant visa issuance fee: $60
  • Agency fees: $10,000 – $30,000

Because international adoption programs vary from country to country, we have listed a range for total costs that includes:

US Agency or Attorney Fees (for estimates, see Domestic Adoption Costs table above)

  • INS/State Department visa application, processing and visa medical fees
  • Homestudy and parent preparation
  • Psychological evaluations (if required)
  • Physical examinations
  • Post-placement supervision (if required)
  • Translation and authentication of adoption dossier documents (if required)
  • Agency placement fee

Fees in the Foreign Country

  • Travel expenses (transportation, hotel, meals)
  • Foreign agency placement fee
  • Foreign attorney legal and placement fee
  • Foster and medical care for the child
  • Use of translation and escort services by US agency representative in the foreign country
  • Foreign court filing fee and document fees (birth certificate and adoption decree)
  • Required "donation" to orphanage or agency
  • Translation services and escort services
  • Passport office fees

Resources to Help Defray Adoption Costs

Federal Tax Credit Effective January 1, 1997, there is a federal adoption tax credit of $5,000 per child, whether the adoption is domestic or international. Parents adopting a U.S. child with special needs qualify for a $6,000 tax credit. The tax credit for intercountry adoptions and for domestic non-special-needs adoptions will expire in 2002.

At the Website, of the Internal Revenue Service, you will find information about tax rules and changes to those rules. You can link to this site for information about the IRS Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number, and for Publication 968, on the Adoption Tax Credit and Tax Exclusion. (http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/)

State Tax Credits Several states have enacted state tax credits for families adopting children from the public child welfare system in that state. Contact your State Adoption Specialist; contact information can be found in our National Adoption Directory online.

Adoption from the US Public Foster Care System If you are interested in adopting a child who is currently waiting in foster care, often not only are fees kept to a bare minimum or even waived, but many of the children will be eligible for federally-funded or state-funded adoption subsidy payments which help you meet the child's ongoing needs. In addition, some children qualify for SSI (Social Security Insurance) payments or Medicaid coverage because of their medical conditions.

Adoption Subsidy Children with special needs may qualify for an adoption subsidy which is paid to adoptive families to help them pay for their child's need for ongoing therapies or treatment. Adoption subsidy agreements must be negotiated with the placing agency before the child's adoption is finalized. For more information see our factsheet Subsidized Adoption or contact the North American Council for Adoptable Children at http://www.nacac.org/adoptionsubsidy.html

Non-Recurring Adoption Expense Reimbursement After families have finalized the adoption of a child with special needs from the public child welfare system, they may be able to apply for reimbursement of expenses they paid related to the adoption, which may include home study fees, travel expenses to meet the child, attorney fees, etc. Each state sets a maximum cap which cannot exceed $2,000 per adoption.

Employer Benefits Many employers provide a range of benefits for families who adopt (including paid or unpaid leave when a child arrives in the home, reimbursement of some portion of adoption expenses, assistance with adoption information and referral services, etc.). Corporate human resource departments will provide employees with information about benefits available, if any.

Adoption Loans The National Adoption Foundation has established a $9 million revolving loan bank to provide unsecured loans to adoptive families. Your payments and interest then help other adoptive parents. NAF also has a home equity loan program. Both loan programs are financed through MBNA. The foundation has a limited program to provide grants,usually in the $2,500 range, to assist families with adoption costs. You can call the foundation to request that an application packet be sent to you. National Adoption Foundation 100 Mill Plain Road Danbury, CT 06811 (203) 791-3811.

Banker Norman Hecht, who is also an adoptive parent, has written an article for Adoptive Families Magazine on working to meet adoption expenses. You can request a free reprint from Adoptive Families of America by calling their toll-free number at 800-372-3300. Adoptive Families of America has a web site at http://www.adoptivefam.org .

Adoption Cancellation Insurance Some insurance underwriters offer adoption cancellation insurance coverage for purchase by prospective adoptive families who are working with agencies or attorneys pre-approved by the underwriter to insure against the financial loss of expenses paid for birthparent expenses in cases where birthparents change their mind after the birth of the child and decide to parent the child rather than place the baby for adoption. One carrier of whom NAIC is aware is Kemper Insurance Company, through MBO 855 Oak Grove Avenue Menlo Park, CA (800) 833-7337 http://www.adopting.org/mbo.html.

For More Information The National Endowment for Financial Education has prepared a 78 page booklet, "How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option," to instruct adoptive parents about the range of financial assistance options that may be available. The booklet is available at no cost through naic, or you may download the booklet at the NEFE Website at NEFE .

Credits

Child Welfare Information Gateway (http://www.childwelfare.gov)