FAQs

Some people have many questions when we tell them we would like to adopt a baby. As these questions surface I will try to post answers to them here. The one we have been asked most often is 

• Why is it so expensive?

Domestic infant adoption costs are high because they include many items. First, adoptive parents have to have a consultation. Our agency charged $495 to sit down with them and talk about the process and how the agency would handle it. 

They also were in frequent contact via email and the phone to answer every little question we had along the way. 

Then we had to apply and complete a home study. That includes fingerprints and background checks for every member of the household. We also needed physicals. The cost of obtaining the clearances and seeing the doctor totaled about $250.  The home study, which includes not only a visit to the house but also the processing of the paperwork, the letters of recommendation, the personal biographies, and the couple's history, cost $1750 through our agency. 

We could have had the home study completed through other agencies, but if we decided to proceed through this particular agency, they required the home study be completed by them. We picked them because of their excellent placement reputation, and we didn't want to have to pay for more than one home study, so we decided to complete the process through them. If we don't adopt through their agency the home study is still legal and completed for any other adoption process. 

As far as the rest of the costs, they are outlined nicely on the web site Baby Center, which you can find by clicking here.

There is also an excellent piece by Eliza Newlin Carney from the magazine Adoptive Families on the costs of adoption and how it works right here.  

• Couldn't you just go through the foster care system?

We could, but there are many reasons why this isn't a match for us. Please read the page called "How Do We Envision Our Family?" for more information about that. 

• Will you consider an Open Adoption?

Absolutely we will. We know that this is often best for both the child and the birth mother.