 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
What does it cost to adopt a child from foster care? The child on the photolisting website has a million-dollar smile. Will it cost a million dollars to adopt her? You may be surprised to learn that it is not costly to adopt children from the U.S. foster care system–such as those whose photos and descriptions appear on the Wednesday's Child website and in the "Waiting Children" section of the website of the Adoption Center of Delaware Valley. While everyone has heard stories of families paying tens of thousands of dollars in adoption fees for a healthy infant or a toddler from another country, there are no high fees associated with adopting children from foster care. All of the children featured on the Center's sites and also the children featured on the Wednesday's Child television newscasts are in the care of public (city, state, or county) agencies here in the United States. These agencies do not charge families fees to adopt the children. To be approved to adopt a waiting child, a family may work with either a public or a private agency to complete the homestudy process. Private agencies usually do charge fees (which may vary considerably), while public agencies generally provide the homestudy at no cost to the family. Both types of agencies can prepare a family for a successful, affordable adoption. Even when working with a public agency, families should expect to encounter some expenses in the adoption process. They may have to pay for copies of required documents, such as their own birth certificates, or for current medical exams. All agencies require a criminal history clearance and a child abuse clearance, for which there are small fees. And all adoptions must be finalized in court, so there will be modest attorney fees. Fortunately, there are several sources of help with covering costs. Adoptive families are eligible for state or federal reimbursement of one-time non-recurring adoption expenses (such as attorney fees, the cost of a homestudy, and airfare to visit the child, if necessary), and also for tax credits. Some employers offer adoption benefits. Sometimes a child's agency is willing to contribute to or cover the adoptive family's expenses. Nearly all waiting children are eligible for state or federal financial adoption assistance (subsidy) and medical assistance, which continue until they are 18 years old. Adopting a child waiting in the U.S. foster care system is not expensive. And in the words of Jimmy, a single adoptive father from New York, "It's definitely well worth it." That child you saw on the website has a one-of-a-kind personality to match the million-dollar smile. You can count on it. --- |