The following post is from September 26, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed!
Now that we have begun the adoption process and are in the early stages of fundraising, one of the first questions we get from people is, “Why does adoption cost so much?!” That’s a great question because adoption is not cheap! We are estimating that our adoption will likely cost us around $25,000 with potential to be higher.
So what’s the deal?
A lot goes into providing a permanent home for a child, and while our hearts tell us that there shouldn’t be a price tag on such a thing, there are a lot of people, agencies, and legal hoops involved in the process. Someone has to foot the bill for these, and in private adoption (as opposed to state funded foster care), the financial responsibility lands on the adoptive parents. These costs include, but are not limited to the following:
Click here if you'd like to donate on our crowd-funding site.
Amy and I have watched God, our Father, provide for us in some pretty astounding ways in our past 12 years of marriage. He has shown us that, as a Father, He takes great delight in providing for His children. So the price tag of $25,000, although intimidating, does not feel insurmountable.
Even more astounding than the Father’s provision, however, is the cost He’s proven He’s willing to pay in order to finalize an adoption. He went to every length to ensure that we could be adopted into His family through Christ. Jesus gave up position in Heaven and walked the path of a humble servant all the way to death on a cross just so that we could be adopted into the Father’s family.
For Amy and me, the cost we are paying for adoption pales in comparison to the cost paid by Christ, and it is just one more small way that we can follow in His steps to display His radical love to those around us…and to our new baby.
If you’d like to contribute to our adoption, please check out our fund-raising site and consider making a donation. All donations are tax-deductible.
Now that we have begun the adoption process and are in the early stages of fundraising, one of the first questions we get from people is, “Why does adoption cost so much?!” That’s a great question because adoption is not cheap! We are estimating that our adoption will likely cost us around $25,000 with potential to be higher.
So what’s the deal?
A lot goes into providing a permanent home for a child, and while our hearts tell us that there shouldn’t be a price tag on such a thing, there are a lot of people, agencies, and legal hoops involved in the process. Someone has to foot the bill for these, and in private adoption (as opposed to state funded foster care), the financial responsibility lands on the adoptive parents. These costs include, but are not limited to the following:
- Homestudies — evaluations and training of prospective adoptive parents (click here for more about what a home study is)
- Background Checks — child abuse and criminal clearances for all adult members of the proposed adoptive household — Reports have to be obtained from every state/country of residence since the age of 18. For Aaron alone this means 7 reports and 6 for Amy!!
- Medical Examinations — for the birth mother
- Adoption Plan and Pre-birth Care — parenting options, counseling and overseeing of pre-natal care for the birth mother
- Child Medical Expenses — payment of the child’s hospital/medical expenses at birth and/or if evaluations are requested
- Legal — separate legal representation for adoptive and birth parent(s)
- Court Costs — (pre and finalization of adoption) as required by state regulations
- Counseling — post adoption finalization counseling to birth parent(s)
- Post Placement/Adoption — visits and reports with adoptive families, counseling and referral services for the adoptive family
Click here if you'd like to donate on our crowd-funding site.
Amy and I have watched God, our Father, provide for us in some pretty astounding ways in our past 12 years of marriage. He has shown us that, as a Father, He takes great delight in providing for His children. So the price tag of $25,000, although intimidating, does not feel insurmountable.
Even more astounding than the Father’s provision, however, is the cost He’s proven He’s willing to pay in order to finalize an adoption. He went to every length to ensure that we could be adopted into His family through Christ. Jesus gave up position in Heaven and walked the path of a humble servant all the way to death on a cross just so that we could be adopted into the Father’s family.
For Amy and me, the cost we are paying for adoption pales in comparison to the cost paid by Christ, and it is just one more small way that we can follow in His steps to display His radical love to those around us…and to our new baby.
If you’d like to contribute to our adoption, please check out our fund-raising site and consider making a donation. All donations are tax-deductible.
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