When considering growing your family through adoption, it is important to know that there are different routes available and to determine which is right for you as each route will cost different. Two different opportunities for hopeful adoptive parents include fostering to adopt or adopting a waiting child who is in foster care (public adoption) and independent adoption (private adoption in the US or abroad). While both are wonderful ways to grow a family, there are major differences that anyone hoping to adopt should know about. We at A Love Beyond Borders do not provide public or foster adoptions in the US, but do assist our clients with private adoptions in the US and abroad. We provide a list of organizations which provide adoption grants, low-cost loans, fundraising ideas and other ways to find money toward your adoption. 

Adopting through foster to adopt can be much more affordable than private adoption because the state can fund for most of the expenses, and without a doubt the need for adoptive families is significant. Today there are more than 100,000 children and teens in foster care who are waiting for the love and security that a permanent home provides. While adopting through the foster system may cost significantly less than adopting privately, it may take a significantly more time. If you are interested in adoption through foster care, please start your research at https://www.adoptuskids.org/adoption-and-foster-care/overview/faq.  

The reason that private adoption is so much more expensive than public/foster adoption is that it is a services related field. This means you aren't buying a product, but are hiring an agency to provide services. So whether you are adopting an infant through a private US adoption or adopting abroad, all services must be paid by the adopting person/couple. The people providing the servicces not government employees as they are for public adoptions. When someone adopts a waiting child in the US, the same type of services are rendered to complete the adoption but the government provides the staff and overhead for the services, all of which are funded by tax dollars.  Private infant adoptions in the US or adoption of children abroad require the same services as a public adoption however the government does not provide those services, they are paid for by the adoptive parent. That is why private adoption in the US or abroad costs significantly more than a public adoption. Plus, fees will include travel to the foreign country.

In order to provide the necessary services required for all phases of the adoption, a private adoption agency like A Love Beyond Borders must cover its own expenses of staff and other office overhead.  Travel expenses are included in the estimated cost, and many nations require two or three trips to the country. These trips are sometimes for weeks at a time, and require the help of translators and other specialists. Finally, the orphanage where the child is currently living needs to cover its costs, and the costs of the other children who are left behind. These fees are part of the “country fee,” which often makes up the largest expense of an international adoption.

In International adoption, fees generally cover:

• Travel to the foreign country for one or more trips, for one or more parents and adoptive children

• Government fees in the foreign country where applicable

• Document preparation, certification and translation fees for parents and child

• Legal and facilitator (coordinator) fees in the foreign country

• Adoption agency overhead and expenses

• Liability insurance and compliance

• US government fees for application, visa, and authentication of documents

• Donations and support to the foreign orphanage

• Home study preparation

• Pre-adoption education classes

We provide a long list of organizations which provide grants, low-cost loans and fundraising ideas.  Many clients are very successful raising thousands toward their adoption.