Seriously, I hate to talk about the cost of adoption. There are no two adoption experiences that are the same, especially in the cost department. But, it's an important aspect of the adoption process that anyone and everyone has to seriously consider before moving forward. Typically, domestic adoption runs less than international adoption, but I have to say, with our initial research so far - looking at an adoption agency in Georgia, one in Utah, two in North Carolina and one in South Carolina - the fees are through the roof. I completely understand that fees with state judicial systems are going up, especially with budget deficits and that many nonprofit adoption agencies have been impacted by the recession and economy; however, for a domestic adoption to run $20-$30K, just seems insane to me. Full disclosure, our adoption of Bryce totaled a bit more than $15K. I thought at the time that was pretty good. With a 10K reimbursement through hub's job, we were able to handle this with little financial impact. Now, the same agency we used with Bryce's adoption, has increased its standard fee to $25K. That doesn't include the Web site they want you to go out and buy from a preferred vendor for $1,800 or the manditory DNA testing (total BS). That's a lot of money for us. I don't want to be in debt until I die. If we went with them again, we would be.
It's depressing to look at the numbers when they are THAT high. And, when you look at the fine print, in many situations they ask for the money all at once or within a three week period. That takes major financial maneuvering.
So, the search for us is on for adoption agencies with fees under $20K. I hate to put a price limit on it, but the reality is that we have to. At this point, we're looking for agencies to just do our homestudy. I don't want to commit to just one agency yet. And, we're still pondering going through a referral agency or going through one single agency. With a referral agency you have no control about what agency you'll have to work with at the end point - I've heard both great and awful stories. It's a luck of the draw. With a standard adoption agency the wait could be more than a year. It's a toss up.
As we continue to research our options, I'll let you know what path we head down. Let me know if you have any questions!
Are you saying that the prices have increased by two thirds in just a few years? That's SHOCKING. I'm sure costs are up (well, some costs) and donations are down - and, as usual, that burden falls ENTIRELY on the adoptive families. Is it possible there are also fewer children available for adoption (I have heard this, but don't know), and they're just increasing prices due to stable demand and reduced supply? (If you can tell, there's no motive so low I'd hesitate to ascribe it to the adoption industry. Everything I hear about this system convinces me it's more loathsome than I thought before.)
ReplyDeleteAs to a website - I assume that is supposed to be for the birth parents, and I don't understand why you couldn't just open a (different) free blog at blogspot or wordpress and use that. Why on EARTH (other than profiteering - for shame) would they want you to spend MORE money when you can create a website for free, after you've just spent so much? And why would you pay up-front before the service is fully (or even mostly) provided?
I really hope you find another option - one that doesn't seem engineered to gouge people just because they can't have kids, and have the generosity of spirit to offer a family to a child who doesn't have one. I can't think of many things lower than extortion from adoptive families. Best of luck.
It is crazy how much it costs. Our adoption cost us $28.5k (+all the homestudy costs - so just over $30k total). There are lawyers who charge a lot less that we're looking at for the next one...closer to $10k instead.
ReplyDeleteThe wait is typically a lot shorter with these private adoptions, so I'm thinking we might bypass the agency again. Who knows, though? We can't even start on #2 until next year, so I'm not worrying about it right now.
Finding good homes for kids should be one of the main goals for these agencies...It blows my mind sometimes at how costly they are...
ReplyDeleteYup, the average cost of a domestic adoption is $30,000. Our agency is a bit above that in the average cost, but we will not lose any $ if a mom changes her mind. However, it's crazy expensive, and there are a lot of prohibitive laws in our state (we are considered to have the "worst" state for adoption.) It makes me even more mad that the adoption credit is on the verge of disappearing... it makes me sad for birth families and it makes me sad for adoptive families too. I can't blame any family for not being able to afford this...
ReplyDeleteMy agency has said that their adoption rate did slow down in 2011.