The Financial Side of Adoption

As a potential adoptive parent, I was intrigued by the thought of adopting a child from another country.   However, my husband was the voice of reality and reminded me that the cost of international adoption was way beyond our means.  I was disappointed but willing to try other more affordable avenues like adopting an older child in the United States.  The costs of a domestic infant adoption were also out of our reach.  Eventually we were drawn to foster care because the process is essentially free and we were willing to open ourselves to the possibility of reunification.  Now that I work in the adoption/foster care world, I am aware that there are many creative ways to fund a more expensive type of adoption.

For the record, I do not regret my journey through foster care and highly recommend it as an affordable option to others.  However, there are now some wonderful and creative ways to make the cost of your dream adoption attainable.  A quick Google search with the words “Financial Assistance for Adoption” will produce a wide variety of sources to explore.  Topics include, tax credit, loans, and fundraising.  Always ask your agency about financial resources to explore their recommendations first.  The tax credit is also a substantial deduction for adoption.  The only challenge with a tax deduction is that you must pay expenses first to receive the write off later on.   I have found that using multiple sources and ideas tends to be the best way to whittle down costs. 

As a hopeful mother, I found it very discouraging that financial barriers stood between me and the family that I wanted.  I felt like searching out a loan or holding a fundraiser just highlighted the fact that my husband and I had infertility issues.  It was the last thing on earth that I wanted to broadcast to the general public.  So I narrowed down my search by listing the choices by my comfort level.  I started by talking to my personal banking institution to find out what we would qualify for.  I also felt comfortable researching grants and applying to any that felt right.  My parents also wanted to contribute and offered us a family loan.  I felt that I would be able to pay them back with the tax refund that I had gained by using the tax credit.   Now that it is 10 years later, I think I would be more confident in looking at some creative fundraising methods such as selling homemade goods, or participating in a 5K fundraiser.

I found that researching all the different methods was the most important step that I made.  As I searched through the possibilities, I was able to pick and choose what would work best for me and my husband.   I recommend talking to others about their adoption experience too.  Don’t be afraid to be brave and try some of the more creative methods of fundraising too!