These
costs range from $0 to $2,500, primarily for travel and attorney’s fees.
In foster care adoptions, fees often are kept to a minimum
or even waived, so that final costs to parents may be negligible.
The costs in this category are very difficult
to estimate in more than a general way because these adoptions take place in so
many different ways. The “usual” range of $5,000 to $40,000 represents a huge
cost differential and is primarily the difference between foster care adoption
(low end) and private attorney or facilitator adoption (high end).
Licensed private agency
adoption costs ($5,000 to $40,000)
Costs include fees charged by the agency and may include
the cost of the home study, birth parent counseling, adoptive parent
preparation and training, and social work services involved in matching a child
to a prospective family. Most agencies have a standard schedule of fees that
they will provide to you and many have sliding fee scales based on family
income.
Independent adoption costs
($8,000-$40,000; average is $10,000-$15,000)
An independent adoption handled by
an attorney generally results in costs that may include medical expenses for
the birth mother (as allowed by law), separate legal fees for representing
adoptive and birth parents, and any allowable fees for advertising.
The costs of independent adoptions
are less predictable than the fees from an adoption agency. In addition, costs
may not be reimbursable if the birth mother changes her mind about
relinquishing her baby.
