How Much Does It Cost To Adopt?

November is National Adoption Month.  Have you considered adoption? Ever wonder the cost of adopting? Expenses range from free to quite costly.  (When you look at the charts below, don't let the expenses discourage you. Tomorrow I will post on how to adopt even when you can't afford the cost.) For today, lets examine what the cost to adopt is. Adoptive Families Magazine surveyed over 1,500 families that adopted a child in 2010 or 2011 about cost before any employee benefits, tax credits or grants. Here is what the survey found:

• Domestic adoptions, on average, cost less than international adoptions.


• U.S. foster adoption is the least expensive adoption route, by a significant margin.


• 80 percent of respondents who adopted from foster care receive an ongoing monthly subsidy. On average, these families reported receiving $630 per month.


• For most adopters, the average total expenses were about $30,000.


• 39 percent of domestic adopters had at least one "false start," in which adoptive parents worked with one or more birthmothers before a match that succeeded. The majority (77%) of "false starts" cost less than $5,000.

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Average Domestic Adoption Cost

	Domestic Newborn - Agency	Domestic Newborn- Independent	U.S. Foster
Homestudy Fee	$1,820	$1,538	$285
Document Preparation & Authentication	$768	$680	$0
Adoption Agency Application & Program Fees	$14,441	$4,608	$0
Legal Fees	$3,536	$10,331	$686
Advertising/ Networking	$2,172	$3,437	$0
Birth Family Counseling	$1,233	$543	$0
Birthmother Expenses	$3,834	$4,274	$0
Foster Care	$230	$38	$0
Travel Expenses	$1,870	$2,285	$521
All Other Expenses	$4,108	$2,488	$761
TOTAL	$34,012	$30,222	$2,253

Average International Adoption Cost

	China	Ethiopia	Russia	South Korea	Ukraine
Homestudy Fee	$2,052	$2,107	$1,923	$2,178	$1,886
Document Preparation & Authentication	$2,214	$1,769	$3,258	$1,472	$1,272
Adoption Agency Application & Program Fees	$7,652	$11,988	$22,173	$16,675	$6,143
In-Country Adoption Expenses	$5,581	$1,979	$6,709	$9,007	$13,946
Child's Passport, Visa, Medical Exam, and Other Fees	$716	$837	$1,431	$888	$1,021
Post-Adoption Expenses	$1,576	$1,150	$1,684	$1,775	$767
Major Travel Expenses	$7,181	$7,852	$14,748	$5,577	$9,614
In-Country Travel Expenses	$2,704	$1,080	$6,709	$583	$2,386
All Other Expenses	$2,125	$5,363	$7,569	$8,533	$5,000
TOTAL	$31,801	$34,125	$66,204	$46,688	$42,035

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Cost Distribution

	Less than $1k	$1k to $5k	$5k to $10k	$10k to $20k	$20k to $30k	$30k to $40k	$40k to $50k	More than $50k
U.S. Agency	0%	1%	6%	25%	37%	23%	7%	1%
U.S. Independent	1%	7%	14%	24%	22%	17%	13%	2%
U.S. Foster	70%	23%	4%	3%	0%	0%	0%	0%
China	0%	0%	0%	4%	58%	32%	6%	0%
Ethiopia	0%	1%	0%	10%	50%	30%	8%	1%
Russia	0%	0%	0%	0%	3%	17%	45%	35%
South Korea	0%	0%	0%	9%	36%	42%	11%	2%
Ukraine	0%	0%	0%	0%	32%	36%	32%	0%

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Information and Charts from: Adoptive Family Magazine's Survey