There are different forms of adoption the basic categories are foster, international and domestic, from there it is broken down into newborn, child, special need, and older child. This article is to help you decide what type of adoption works best for your interests and financial situation.
Foster to adopt is adopting a child through foster care throughout the country. There are thousands of children throughout the United States awaiting their forever family. These children range in age from infant to 18 years, although many of them are older children who have been in the foster care system for an extended period of time. Many of these children have suffered from abuse or neglect, and may be part of a minority group or a siblings group. This is the lower cost option; however, it may require you to travel to different states depending on where your child is located. Children listed on the matching site are usually difficult to place due to their special needs, which may not be listed in the short summary provided on the matching website. We have had families adopt through foster care from Florida where they had to go down to begin bonding with the child every other week for two months. These costs are not included in agency fees and cannot be predicted because the terms vary based on the agency and state. The range of cost for foster care adoption is $0-5000 excluding travel, depending on the state’s requirements. Reimbursement and assistance is sometimes available.
Domestic Adoption is adopting a child within the country. Often these are newborn children, but this also includes relative adoption or other private adoption arrangements within the United States. This may include travel expenses throughout the country, these expenses vary and will not be included in the fee. We have had families adopt newborns from all over the country. One family was waiting in Texas for a week waiting for Interstate Compact on the Placing of Children Approval, meaning they cannot travel throughout the country with the child until the Interstate compact Offices of Pennsylvania approves. The length of the stay varies on the agencies and if the paperwork is completed quickly and if there are any problems that were overlooked. The range of cost for a domestic adoption is $20,000 to $40,000+. Depending on the state the child is from, adoptive families can be responsible for “gifts”, hospital bills, and/or the cost of living for the birth mother for a few months. Each placement agency will explain information prior to accepting a match. In Pennsylvania monetary gain for the birth parents is not permitted. This means adoptive families are only responsible for the cost of working with the agency they choose and legal fees associated with TPR, intent to adopt, and finalization. There may be some other costs searching for unknown parents or birth parents who can no longer be located. With newborn domestic adoption, it is a possibility that the birth parent will change their mind. In some cases families are at the hospital, have met with the birth parents, and then the birth parents decides to parent. It is heart breaking for the family, but it is a risk that all families take. In Pennsylvania, a birth family has thirty days to change their mind about placing the child for adoption. This is one of the longer waiting periods in the United States, but it is to protect the rights of all parties.
International Adoption is adopting a child, older child, or relative from a different country. This is sometimes the most expensive option due to the cost of traveling abroad, but most placement agencies will include this cost as well as the cost of an in country guide in your fees. The range of cost for an international adoption is $30,000 to $50,000. To see information about specific countries you are interested in you may look at the Department of State website. A few countries that our families have commonly adopted from are China, Bulgaria, and India. Sometimes this can be a lengthy process depending on the country chosen. Some families wait for years, updating their home study and USCIS each year, while other families are home before even one update is needed. Depending on the visa your family travels on to bring the child back you will not have to readopt the child in Pennsylvania. An IR3 does not require the child to be readopted in the Pennsylvania, but you do have to apply to receive the child’s birth certificate. An IR4 does require the family to readopt in the United States as well as apply for the child’s birth certificate. Families adopting from China do not require readoption in the state of Pennsylvania. International adoptions are only among children proven to be orphans in their home country whether the parents are unknown, deceased, or have lost their parental rights. These are the least risky adoptions because the birth parents are not given the opportunity to change their mind like in domestic adoptions. However, children from international countries may have incomplete medical records and social histories, we find families come home to realize their child does not have the medical diagnoses that was thought in country or the reverse can happen where the child has more diagnoses than expected. You do have the opportunity to have medical information of a perspective adoptive child reviewed by a medical adoption clinic. Families United often recommends Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh for families located in Pennsylvania. However, they can only base their prognosis on the information given and there may still be unknowns.
We hope that the above information was able to help you understand your options more thoroughly and help in your researching process. We want you to understand fully the positives and negatives of the options given. If you would like recommendations on placement agencies to contact, please do not hesitate to call us at 800-722-0136. We have a large network of agencies that we have closely worked with in the past that may suit your family’s wants.
Families United In Adoption 