For many hopeful parents, adoption costs can be overwhelming. Many families contact us wanting to know, How Much Does It Cost To Adopt A Child? Why does adoption cost so much?
Because of the number of services and professionals required to complete an adoption, it is true that adoption fees can be significant. The average cost of adopting a child through a domestic adoption agency is $41,532, according to Adoptive Families’ annual survey.
In the past year, A Child’s Hope’s adoptive families paid less than this national average, with total adoption costs averaging $35,000, including agency fees, birth mother expenses and legal fees. Here, learn more about the average cost to adopt a child with A Child’s Hope, the services we offer in exchange, and the ways we keep our adoption fees as low as possible.
There are a number of factors impacting the overall cost of adoption; the services you need and the needs of your baby and his or her birth parents can influence domestic adoption costs.
We are able to keep our adoption costs low by focusing on in-state adoptions, which reduce travel expenses for adoptive families and allows us to meet with prospective birth parents in person. This gives us a better understanding of each expectant mother’s needs, making our adoption services more efficient and our estimated adoption costs more accurate.
Below, learn about the breakdown of adoption costs with A Child’s Hope, as well as the services you will receive in exchange for each:
The agency fee is the most significant expense impacting overall private adoption costs, simply because it includes the majority of the services you need to successfully complete your adoption.
With A Child’s Hope, these costs are always fixed and may be paid in four installments throughout the adoption process. The agency assistance fee includes the following services:
An additional $300 agency application fee is required to work with our agency. However, if you attend the $300 family-building consultation and decide to move forward with A Child’s Hope’s adoption program, this application fee is waived.
A Child’s Hope partners with My Adoption Advisor, a leading expert in adoption advertising and marketing services, to create unique profiles for each of our waiting families. This profile is what will be shown to prospective birth mothers to help them find the perfect adoptive family, so it is important to create a profile that is professional, eye-catching and easy to read.
Your advertising and marketing expenses paid to My Adoption Advisor cover the following services:
In North Carolina, an adoptive family may pay reasonable and necessary living expenses during a prospective birth mother’s pregnancy and up to six weeks after the baby is born. These expenses vary based on the expectant mother’s financial needs, but may include costs such as housing, utilities, groceries, gas and clothing.
A Child’s Hope works with each of our expectant mothers to help them create a budget during their pregnancy. This helps us identify their financial needs, so we can let adoptive families know what living expenses will be required when an adoption opportunity becomes available. The agency generally pays expenses directly and gives gift cards.
An attorney is required to provide the legal services necessary to finalize every adoption in North Carolina. These legal services include:
Adoption attorney fees vary based on the circumstances of the adoption. In an uncontested adoption with a single birth father, legal fees to finalize average $4,000-$4,500. The need to terminate the parental rights of an unknown birth father or additional putative fathers, publication fees and contested adoptions may increase legal adoption costs.
The following expenses may be necessary during the adoption process and are not included in our agency assistance fee:
The circumstances of every adoption are different, making it difficult to provide an exact number to How Much Does It Cost To Adopt A Child? When you are interested in an available adoption opportunity, an adoption counselor will work with you to ensure you understand the costs that apply to that opportunity.
While private adoption costs can be expensive, there is some financial assistance available to help growing families. Here are some of the most common options for hopeful parents looking to finance their adoption:
At A Child’s Hope, we are committed to helping you reach your family-building goals. To learn more about adoption expenses, our services and your financing options, contact us today to schedule a no-obligation consultation.