How can we afford adoption?

How to pay for an adoption?? That was the real hang up for my husband and I. There was no question if we wanted to adopt, would we love the child, or if we were mentally and emotionally ready. Just the dreaded money! It is scary to find a way to come up with money for adoption. It is overwhelming and it will put a lot of burden on you and your spouse. No matter how you look at it is hard and will be a topic of discussion and arguments. But like everything else with adoption you have to make up your mind that it is worth it and must be willing to push through it. It is hard. Is it worth it? Absolutely, so now what?

I’m happy to share what we did, and what others I know have done, and what else is out there.

The first thing you need to take in consideration is that adoption costs vary and they can vary pretty wide. There are lots of things that can affect the cost. Is the adoption international or domestic? Does the mother have insurance or will you be covering the medical cost? Will there be housing and living expenses offered for the mother?  Then there are the lawyer Fees, home study fees, and possible travel expenses. Believe it or not I even think the size of the agency comes into play. So go in with your eyes open, know what possibilities may lie in front of you. You do have some control when it comes to adoption costs. You may just have to get creative.

With our first adoption we were making some home improvements as well so we took out a home equity loan. This worked out well for us. Our adoption expenses were pretty low as far as adoption goes. Our agency was smaller, our son’s mother’s medical expenses were already covered (we did have to cover baby’s expenses), and we housed her. We also had the tax credit which at the time was spread out over a number of years. Our health insurance offered an adoption benefit as well which we gladly took.

For our second adoption which included two children. Again, this was a different circumstance than typical adoptions…..siblings, an older child….etc. so these adoption expenses were pretty low as well plus I knew we would recoup all the costs because of the refundable tax credit that was available at that time. (They have since changed how the tax credit works.) Because of this we went to family members who were willing to loan us the money so we could add to our family.

This is what worked for us but there are tons and I mean tons of avenues to explore.

FUNDRAISING:  I know families who have done lots of fundraising in lots of different ways. Car washes, garage sales, bake sales, craft sales, money jugs (I’ve seen these a lot and honestly…I always put something in), people have even raised money through “thon” events, and donation registries. 

GRANTS: There are lots and lots of grants out there for almost anything you might imagine. In my research I found grants for kids with special needs, grants by states, grants for sibling adoptions, grants that cover home study expenses, grants based on religious requirements.

LOANS: Like I said earlier we borrowed for both of our adoptions once from a bank and once from family.  There are low interest rates out there for people trying to adopt, and lots of different places other than your typical bank.

TAX CREDIT: I’ll be honest….we’ve seen good tax credits and great tax credits. They are still helpful just not as good as they once were. You can check out http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Adoption-Benefits-FAQs to see exactly where the tax credit stands. Some State’s offer a tax credit as well….check with your State Tax Commission to see if your state is one of those.

EMPLOYER ADOPTION BENEFITS:  Ask, it can’t hurt. A lot of time this is available and people just don’t know.

My dad always said to us kids growing up “Work will win when wishy washy wishing won’t.” I guess you could say that applies here. There are things out there that can help you….you are just going to have to put in a little work.

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ADDITIONAL READING

I have read through these. Please note these are for your information. We do not nor do we have business relations with any of these programs.

Adoption Friendly Workplace Program
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Encourages employers to offer adoption benefits and helps employees advocate for these benefits in their workplace.

Adoption Tax Credit
Adoption Learning Partners
Offers an online course to help adoptive families determine their eligibility for the adoption tax credit, understand how the tax credit works, create a system for tracking and documenting expenses, and prepare for filing taxes.

Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number
Internal Revenue Service
Answers common questions about the adoption taxpayer identification number, the temporary number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to a child pending finalization of his or her adoption.

Affording Adoption Foundation
Offers financial assistance to families in the process of adopting and provides information on post-adoption support.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit for Special Needs Adoptions
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Provides Federal tax credit information for parents adopting a child with special needs.

Gift of Adoption Fund
Provides grants to adoptive parents.

God's Grace Adoption Ministry
Helps place orphaned children with families and helps families overcome the financial burden of adopting.

Hebrew Free Loan Association
Provides interest-free loans to Jewish adults who wish to adopt children internationally or domestically.

Help Us Adopt
Awards grants to qualified prospective adoptive parents.

National Adoption Foundation
Offers financial assistance, services, and support for families before, during, and after adoptions are finalized.

Adoption Assistance by State
Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (AAICAMA) & Child Welfare Information Gateway Answers questions on States' adoption assistance policies, medical assistance, and post adoption services.

Adoption Subsidy Resource Center
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Provides profiles on State adoption subsidy programs and fact sheets on adoption assistance programs.

Thanks for sharing my adoption journeys,

Jared
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