Finances

When I started the adoption process, the more I learned about adoption and the state of orphans in Ethiopia, the more I wanted to spread the word. I (naively) thought, "Why doesn't everyone do this?" I know the answer is complicated, but one of the reasons is financial. But there's an adopting mother out there who is doing something to fix that. This week, I'm featuring a unique adoption story of an incredible woman whom I've recently heard about. Meet Beth. Beth and her husband have two biological children. Earlier this year, they decided to adopt from Ethiopia. "The need is so great there, and we are completely enamored with the culture," she said. "We have really enjoyed getting to know the customs… [more]

The adoption process is always a complicated one fraught with worry.  A roller coaster ride that leaves you feeling a bit dizzy.  One of the reasons we decided on Ethiopia was the fact that it was a stable program and pretty straight forward.  This was two-three years ago mind you.  Our adoption went very smooth, yet still caused me to obtain more than a few gray hairs! Recently some changes have been made to the Ethiopian adoption process that have changed the program dramatically.  I have tried to simplify some of the changes for you. Here is the link to the State Department for the entire message. Starting May 9, 2010, At least one parent now has to appear at the court hearing… [more]

I can remember being in grade school and hearing about the famine in Ethiopia. Does anyone else remember the time of the "We are the World" song to raise money and awareness for Africa? I'm dating myself here! Even at my young age I had a little grasp that not everyone has all that I have. I credit this time as when the little seed in me started growing in my heart that I wanted to help others in need. When economic times are hard, as they are now for many Americans, I think we are a bit more tight in the wallet. This is a good thing, as I believe we are a very materialistic society and that fact that we are refocusing… [more]

A huge question in the minds of many adoptive parents is how on earth they'll ever be able to afford the costs associated with an international adoption. I have blogged in the past about the estimated cost for our current adoption, and how we afforded the adoption costs for our other children. I also wrote about the timing of adoption-related expenses (hint: you don't have to come up with all the money at once!). I want to write now about some of the different foundations that exist to help families afford adoption. A charitable organization that offers grants to adoptive families is The Gift of Adoption Fund. This organization provides financial assistance to moderate- and low-income families seeking to adopt. They are most likely to offer… [more]

In a previous post I shared the projected costs for the adoption that my husband and I are currently doing. Here I thought I'd explain our costs a bit and show you what to look for when you are picking an agency and counting up costs for yourself. Fees for more than one child- A fee that really varies from agency to agency is the fee for an additional child. I have heard that some agencies charge $4000-$6000 more for the adoption of a second child. Our agency charges $8000 to adopt two children over the age of 7, which is exactly the same fee they charge for ONE infant. AAI is very committed to finding families for older children and sibling groups, so they work hard to… [more]

One of the most common adoption-related questions I get is the money one: just how much does it cost to adopt from Ethiopia? I briefly considering getting a run down on every cost for every agency, but then I realized that would take forever and I remembered I have a life beyond this blog. So what I've done is add up my costs as exactly as possible. I'll share some details in a future post that will help you estimate your own costs a little more closely. For previous adoptions I have added up the major costs-- agency fees, homestudy and immigration paperwork, and plane tickets-- and estimated the total costs from that. I estimated that our Ethiopian adoption in 2004 cost around $14,000. Our 2005… [more]

Families considering international adoption are often understandably concerned about the money involved. Ethiopia is one of the more reasonable countries. Some agencies working in Ethiopia are more affordable than others. Choosing to have your child escorted may end up to be a little more affordable than traveling. But still all the costs associated with an Ethiopian adoption can easily add up to $12,000 or more. There are a variety of resources out there to assist with adoption funding. Erin over at the Transracial blog wrote a dynamite series of posts awhile back about adoption funding. I can't improve on her advice, so I won't even try. If you're concerned about funding your adoption, go check out her posts. I… [more]

One of our sons was born missing his right foot. When we were considering his adoption, one of the biggest issues in our minds was the cost of providing him with prosthetic legs. He needs on average one new prosthetic per year at a cost of around $10,000 per leg. That's no small chunk of change. We were familiar with the work that Shriner's does for children with orthopedic needs, burns, and spinal cord injury. We investigated and were pleased to learn that we would be eligible for help from them, and that all costs would be covered. As it turned out, our own health insurance was quite good - good enough that we ended up deciding to use local prosthetics services instead of… [more]

One of the questions that adoptive families often ask is if there is an income requirement to adopt from Ethiopia. Ethiopia does not require a specific income to adopt. However, the US immigration does. Additionally, some of the agencies that work in Ethiopa do have an income requirement, so that is one of the question you'd be wise to ask any agency that you may be considering. The immigration department requires proof of income in the form of the I-864, the Affidavit of Support. Basically, unless you are a military family, you must have an income that is 125% of the poverty level for the number of people in your family, including the child to be adopted. If you are an active-duty military family… [more]

My husband works for a fairly big company in our area, one that employs several thousand people. Sometimes when you work for a company that big, your needs can feel lost in the shuffle. But we have always felt supported in one important way. My husband's employer offers a $2000 adoption benefit. With each of our four adoptions, they have handed us a check, usually within a month of homecoming-- just in time to help pay for all those expensive airline tickets that we put on our credit card to get our child home. An article in yesterday's New York Times entitled Breaking the Biology Barrier talked about the growing trend of employers to offer adoption benefits to their employees. A 2006 survey of… [more]