Why Does Adoption Cost So Much!?!

I have been asked several times why adoption costs so much. While the adoption industry is called an industry for a reason, expensive adoptions are legitimately expensive. But many adoptions are very affordable or inexpensive. Prices vary widely based on agency, state or country, health, age, and race of the child.

We're pursuing a upper-middle of the road adoption--a domestic, infant, African American adoption. Domestic, infant, Caucasian infant adoptions usually cost the most, because the demand is so high. International adoptions can be very expensive too, especially for those countries that require two lengthy stays in country.

There's $1000-$2000 for legal work and for a social worker to check out your family before and after the adoption. There's $4000-$7000 in medical expenses for the birth mother. She may use a month or so of living expenses too--rent, food, child care, transportation. She'll need counseling to help her work through her options, cope with the loss of her child to the adoptive family, and possibly even find a job. Agencies also have to pay for overhead and advertising (finding birth moms and adoptive parents). The living expenses, counseling, and agency costs are usually included in the agency fees, often between $10000-$30000.

Since birth moms can fly to Utah for their births if they choose, and even come out well before the birth if needed, adoption through agencies here usually has higher costs. First, if they come early, out-of-state birth moms stay in agency-paid apartments and eat agency-paid food. Most birth moms choose to wait to come out until the last few days though. Second, Utah does not provide Medicare for birth moms who have no intention of staying, and insurance may not cover a child until he is adopted by the family (at least 24 hours after the pricey birth), so labor and delivery is paid for in cash at the hospital at the time of birth.

The agency we're using subsidizes the adoption of African American and bi-racial infants. AA adoptions are half as much as Caucasian and bi-racial adoptions are two thirds as much. It also does not require any payment until placement for AA adoption--very, very rare. Some take offense to pricing based on race, but I think the agency justifies it as a way to encourage families to adopt where most needed.

In researching agencies for ourselves, we ran into many rip-off, take-the-money-and-run, sucker stories. There are big profits to be had in adoption. Thankfully, the internet and state licensors uncover the less trustworthy agencies for those who take the time to check.

Now, there are adoptions that cost very little--adopting an older child from the state or a special need child from overseas, for example. And special needs has a broad definition; it includes healthy older children and infants with correctable conditions, as well as children with mild to severe permanent disabilities. There are also grants from charities for hard-to-place children or lower income adoptive families.

Most helpful for any adoption is a national adoption tax credit that is applied the year after an it is finalized (6 months after a child has been living with his family)--$11,000, spread out over up to 4 years if needed. Hmm...seed money for our next adoption!

These expenses are prohibitive. Yet in that, we are humbled by God's provision for our family. An inheritance, an award at work, a raise, Reserves pay checks, a tax refund...all in time to add up to an adoption this summer. Thank you, Lord!