Why Is Adoption So Expensive?

Why is adoption so expensive?!? Why isn’t adoption free? Aren’t we doing a good thing by adopting a child? We often hear these questions. Yes! You are doing a good thing in adopting a child. Remember, you’re not adopting to “do the child a favor,” but you are adopting because you have love to share with a child needing a loving, secure and safe home.

It seems unreasonable to have high expenses associated with such a loving process. The Nightlight staff includes many adoptive and foster parents; we know adoption is expensive from first-hand experience.

Unlike adopting children from the U.S. foster care system, embryo, domestic infant and international adoptions are not subsidized by tax dollars. It is estimated that adoption from foster care costs taxpayers $100,000 per case. The Nightlight Snowflakes embryo adoption, domestic infant and international adoptions actually cost tens of thousands of dollars LESS.

At Nightlight, we continually search for ways to be more financially efficient and to protect our clients’ financial investments in adoption while providing superior client service. There are many costs incurred during the domestic, embryo or international adoption process. Adoption is a complex, legal process involving many professionals. Numerous government entities are involved. Ultimately, this is an effort to protect the children. Nightlight must cover its own expenses of staff and overhead which includes an investment of time and resources required to start and maintain a variety of successful adoption programs.

What are some of the expenses included in the adoption fees we will be paying?

– Agency human resource expenses. It takes experts to help you navigate complicated adoption processes, state, federal and international laws.

– Each family is required to complete an adoption home study.

– Dedicated program staff to help navigate different types of adoptions, domestically and internationally.

– Foreign country fees, translation fees (do you speak Swahili?), travel costs, medical costs, etc.

– U.S. government and state fees for applications, visas, authentication of documents, authentication of adopting persons.

At Nightlight we have a dedicated person on our staff to help you identify and navigate the myriad of ways you can raise money for your adoption. Be careful not to be fooled by low-quotes as the provider may not be including all of the expenses you will be responsible to pay. Do your best to compare “apples to apples.”

“What you do with your resources in this life is your autobiography.” author, Randy Alcorn

Here is an example of how the fees and costs of international adoption are allocated.