How Do Medical and Legal fees Effect Overall Placement Fees?

Medical and legal fees can add substantially to the overall cost of a domestic newborn adoption. Placement fees for an average adoption in the U.S. are somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.

Medicare coverage for a birth mother cannot transfer from state to state.  Therefore any placement done inside of the state where you service provider is licensed can cost between $5000 and $12,000 extra depending on the type of birth and the length of your birth mothers hospital stay.  In most cases the legal fee is minimal.

On the flip side of that are placements done outside of the state where your service provider is licensed.  In these cases medicare coverage is intact and will most likely cover the bulk of your birth mothers and babies hospital stay barring any major complications.

However, since it is done outside of the state where your service provider is licensed an attorney in that state is hired to handle the documentation of the adoption.  Their fee can range from $4000 to $8000 depending on the state and the attorney.

In both cases these fees are added to the placement fee along with any confinement or post placement fee the birth mother is given by her agency.  In most cases this runs $1500 to $2500.  This fee helps a birth mother to get back on her feet after the birth.

The total average placement fee including medical or legal and post placement with our agency for an African American baby are approx. $24,000 and for a biracial placement approx. $30,000.

When talking with service providers find out what the total fee required is including those extras.  it can make a difference when selecting a service provider to work with.

Who Needs Protection?

In the world of adoption service providers it is not always the case that your adoption funds are going to be fully protected in case of an interruption to your adoption.  Adoptions are interrupted for several reasons but the most common is when a birth mother changes her mind.

It is a very difficult decision for any birth mother.  Most of the time this decision is made after the baby is born.  So for prospective adoptive families it comes as a shock.  Birth mothers of course have every right to change their minds and as an agency we support that decision when it does not put the child at jeopardy.

But for families and adoption service providers it is one of the risks involved in adoption.  The Adoption Center of Choice handles this situation two different ways.  Both will give families the peace of mind that their adoption funds or the money they have spent up to the point will not be lost.

As an adoptive father myself of two beautiful little girls who did not have that safety net when we adopted it really is a big deal.  Adoption is risky enough without having to worry about your funds being lost.

For any placement that is interrupted for any reason we offer our famillies the ability to have their funds rolled over into another placement situation until a placement is made.  For Biracial and Cauacasian placements we also offer a refund within 90 days of the interruption.

Either way you are guaranteed to be placed or get your money back regardless of any problem that may come up during the process.  I have spoken with many families that have lost up to $30,000 to a failed placement. We guarantee that will not happen with our service.

One thing that adoptive families should keep in mind is that many agencies will allow you to have your profile brought back into their birth mother pool and continue to advocate with their birth mothers on your behalf working hard to find you another match.  Very few however will do it without penalty of total loss or a partial loss of funds.  You can start over with another birth mother but you do it from square one all over again.

Some families I have spoken to have had part of the overall funds lost as each failed adoption occurred.  So over two or three failed placement attempts their adoption budget has taken a significant hit and they no longer have the necessary resources to consider all the options they could before they began.

Adoption can be a risky venture no doubt.  But if you are considering an agency ask them about their policies regarding refunding, about failed placements, and how many birth mothers a year they anticipate they will show your profile too.  These three things can save you money and time.

If you'd like to talk about our ability to provide your family professional adoption services without any risk to you send me an email at Dave williams@theadoptioncenter.com

All but one of our five outreach cases are matched

We had five outreach cases over the weekend. Four of the five were matched with a family by Monday morning. We still have one left, an African American baby boy due in early Jan of 2010 that we are still advocating for the right family.

In addition, we have a brand new outreach case as of today 10/27/09 for a African American baby girl due in late November. Both of these cases can be found on my Outreach Website http://www.wix.com/AdoptionCenter/-Adoptive-Family-Outreach-.

For more information call Dave Williams at 801-473-9350

Creating A Profile Pool for Outreach Situations

Over the last few months you may have seen my various postings on my AdoptionVoices.com group "Prospective Adoptive Family Outreach". Because of the tremendous amount of opportunity that our active families have experienced we have depeleted our pool of famliies that are open to an African American or biracial African American placement entirely.

In June and July of this year we had enough active families that we only needed to do outreach once or twice a month. Since then our outreach case load has risen steadily with five new cases in August, and Seven in September. Now almost a week away from the end of October we have had ten outreach cases so far.

In an effort to recreate an active family pool we would like to invite any family that has a current home study done with background clearances from any other adoption service provider to forward their information to Dave Williams for immediate consideration with NO fee requirements upfront whatsoever.

Our goal is to then have an active pool of profiles that we can present to any of our birth mothers expecting a African American or African American biracial baby. For the African American placement the associated fees are then not due until two weeks before the baby is born. For our African American Biracial placement $1350.00 in fees are due at matching and the remainder two weeks before placement. In cases where delivery in immediately pending upon match all fees are due before physical placement.

All adoption fees are protected 100% by The Adoption Center of Choice in two ways. For all African American placements that are interrupted for any reason we roll your paid fees into another matching opportunity until a placement is made. For all Biracial placements we offer the same service as the African American placement plus an option for a refund within 90 days of interruption.

In creating this "profile pool" we hope that familes will recognize a great opportunity to be show cased to a large number of birth mothers with any out of pocket expense. On average a family working with us through outreach is matched within 3 months. Our latest numbers would indicate that if it took us a year to match you with a birth mother in our pool your profile will be in front of 40 - 50 different birth mothers.

What this does in essence is put the burden on our shoulders to show your profile to as many birth mothers as we can as quickly as we can. So my question is, where are you going to find an opportunity to have that done for you with no upfront fees? If you want to take advantage of this opportunity call Dave Williams directly at 801-473-9350 for more details.

Five New Outreach Opportunities For Homestudy Prepared Families to Consider

I have been posting outreach cases on AV sinceJune and I have never had five new outreach cases at one time. Outreach is when I don't have a family in my agency that I can show to a birth motherin my birth mother pool. It is a great opportunity for home study prepared families to consider. We have three African American situations and two biracial situations. I have posted information on each case on my group "Prospective Adoptive Family Outreach" on this website. We are in need of families for all five placements. Each case is unique depending on the state, legal fees, and medical fees.
These cases are all due at various times with the last due by Jan 10th 2010 and are both baby boys and baby girls with one unknown gender. If you would like to be presented on any of these situations after careful consideration please contact Dave Williams at The Adoption Center of Choice at 801-473-9350.

Current Outreach Cases

This morning I have an outreach case. It is for a full African American placement. Birth mother is expecting a boy. She is due Jan 10th of 2010. Birth father is unknown, She is 19 yrs old and has had some depression recently and is taking Zoloft as prescribed.

She is in good health otherwise and so is the baby. She has had pre-natal care since May of this year. She is delivering in Utah.

Fees are:
$16,975 placement fee
$6000 - $8000 medical fees ( no medicaid)
$2500 post placement fee

If you would like more information on this case please contact Dave Williams at he Adoption Center of Choice 801-473-9350

Opportunity for African American Placements

Our birth mother program is compromised of women from all over the United States of varying ethnic and racial backgrounds. In our program approximately half of our birth mothers are living in our Utah program and half across the country.

Of late a certain segment of our placements are stretching the limits of our capacity. This segment is the African American placement and we are finding that each adoption case is becoming what we term as an "Outreach" probably 75% of the time.

"Outreach" is defined by our agency as any situation where by we must look outside of our active and pending adoptive family pool for a suitable placement option. In the summer of "09" I have personally worked on 10 different outreach cases for our African American birth mother pool.

These cases are limiting to many adoptive families because they are for the most part a fixed fee and can incorporate out of state legal fees and medical fees on top of our agency fee. Fees can range anywhere from approx $22,000 to $30,000 depending on the case. For that reason "outreach is not for every family.

Because of that our African American birth mothers are receiving one to four profiles before making a decision. So for families interested in these opportunities there is a high chance of not only being considered by birth mothers but also of being selected. I have had five families that have contacted me this summer and early fall matched with a birth mother in most cases within 96 hours.

For those who can consider these birth mothers it is a great option. If you'd like to learn more about our outreach program contact Dave Williams @ 801-473-9350

Obstacles

Along the adoption journey there are enough obstacles along the path from infertility, fertility treatments, surgery, pills, and so on that once you get to the place where adoption is your next step the last thing you need is another hill to climb.

Adoption is a task for anyone first trying to educate themselves to the process. Once you navigate your way through the complex web of adoption agencies, attorneys, facilatators your still not done. But you have come a long way and have done your due diliegence and have decided on which course you want to proceed. Now what is the next obstacle? Adoption fees.

Adoption fees run a wide range of costs depending on many, many different factors. We won't get into that today. But we will talk about what to do about it. I have adopted twice and both placements were completety unrelated in fees, and service. It required me do things with my assests that otherwise would have precluded me from adopting. If you want something bad enough you will do whatever is necessary within reason of course.

So what if your assests are limited? What are some of your options? i put together a list from the internet that might be of help. I do not recomend any, or endorse any of the options. Some are grants, some loans and some just ideas on how to do it yourself. I am very aware that their many families looking, waiting, hoping to adopt and money is the reason for their delay.

I hope this information will be a benefit to families everywhere looking for some financial assistance. Remember the journey is for a reason. "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams Jr.

Options for Financing Your Adoption


• Corporate Matching Gifts (Check with your employer’s human resources division. Also check www.adopting.org/employer.html, www.adoptionbenefits.com or www.abanet.org/family/advocate/sp97tax.html.) (Target, Wendy’s, Hewitt, and Hallmark all have adoption assistance benefit programs).

• Call The National Adoption Center at (800) TO-ADOPT for information on corporate employee adoption benefit plans.


• Fundraising. Many churches and civic organization will support and assist in fundraising efforts for adoptions.


• Federal Tax Credit of $10,000
o The federal government provides a tax credit of just over $10,000 per child to help with adoption expenses. The details are available in I.R.S. Tax Publication 968 and available online at www.irs.ustreas.gov in downloadable form.


• State Tax Credits
o Several states offer tax credits to aid in adoption expenses as well as other grants and subsidy programs. To learn if you qualify, contact your state tax office or link to state website at www.state.yourstate.us, with “your state” being the standard two letter state designation.
• Grants and Loans
o The National Adoption Foundation offers low interest loans and grants to offset the costs of adoption. www.nafadopt.org.
o The Hebrew Free Loan Association offers interest free loans and grants to assist with adoption expenses for needy families. www.hflasf.org/adopt-loans.html
o The Gift of Adoption Fund offers low interest loans and grants to assist with adoption expenses for needy families. www.giftofadoption.org
o Adopt Share is a Christian Ministry offering assistance with expenses involved in adoption. www.adoptshare.org
o Bright Futures Foundation offers small grants to adopting families. www.homestead.com/brightfutures
o Acres of Hope offers financial assistance and loan programs for the adoption of physically and emotionally challenged children. For information, call (715) 765-4118.
o Christian Adoption Resources (717) 492-1868
o God’s Grace Adoption Ministry offers grants and loans to adopting families. Call (209) 572-4539 for more information
o Grants for Adoption is a private foundation awaiting non-profit approval status to provide grants for adoption. Please email them at info@GRANTSFORADOPTION.COM
o Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries offers fundraising and grant assistance. (509) 465-3520
o Love Knows No Borders will provide information on financial assistance if you send a SASE (two stamps) to 500 B Monroe Turnpike, P.O. Box 350, Monroe, CT 06468.
o Promise the Children provides grates to adopting families working with approved facilitators. ptcstaff@swbell.net
o Sibling Adoption Grants provides up to $4000 for two the adoption of two children. info@siblingadoption.com
o Americans Adopting Orphans provides low interest loans and grants to qualifying families. Call (206) 52-4-KIDS (5437).
o The Boatner Family Foundation provides grants up to $10,000. Write to: P.O. Box 132272, The Woodlands, Texas 77393-2272
o Adoption Financing.com provides a no obligation expedited loan process.
o Adoption Funding-Adoption Network Law Center offers credit based loans (800) 367-2367.
o MBNA offers unsecured loans to qualifying families to assist with adoption related expenses. For more information, call 888-627-8767. MBNA also provides a credit card that contributes to each the National Adoption Foundation with each purchase. (800) 932-2775
o Fifth Third, First Union, and US Bank also provide for adoption loans. Please contact your local branch.
o Building Families Adoption Loan Program is a loan program through Old National Bank for families in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
o Child Adoption Funds #225 9393 N. 90th St., Suite #102, Scottsdale, AZ 85252
o A Child Waits provides low interest loans to qualified parents. (866) 999-2445.
o United Way International provides assistance for the cost of travel for children in need of immediate medical attention. (703) 519-0092.
o The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption provides numerous resources for adoption assistance. View their website at www.davethomasfoundationforadoption.org
o Many banks will give second mortgages on home equity. The funds can be used for adoption and interest is tax deductible.
o Check into your IRA, 401K, or retirement plans for information about borrowing against those funds.
o Steven Curtis Chapman runs a foundation called Shoahannah’s Hope that provides grants to adopting families. Shaohannahshope.org
• Dependency Deductions
o After adopting, don’t forget that you will be able to deduct your child as a dependent, saving tax money.
• Military, Nonrecurring Program
o Full-time military personnel are eligible for a one-time subsidy of up to $2000 per child. www.calib.com/naic/pubs/f_militia.htm
• Tax Questions
o Tax Accountant Len Titone has adopted 6 children and is a tax consultant. He can be contacted at 21 E. Cedar Street, Zionsville, Indiana 46077. (317) 414-9332.

“How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option” is a free comprehensive booklet published by the National Endowment for Financial Education. Order at www.nefe.org or call (719) 948-4000 and ask for Item #602-E.

The Domino Foundation SLC Utah - http://dominofoundation.com/index-3.html
Cost of Adoption
• What Adoption Really Costs
The results of AF's 2007/2008 cost survey.
• Adoption Costs
Sample budget worksheets, by country.

Resources and Funding Strategies
• Special Report: Affording Adoption
AF looks at how families do it.
• Where to Go for Help
Make use of the credits, benefits, subsidies, and other resources available to you.
• Adoption Grants and Loans
Several organizations offer adoption-specific grants and loans.
• Tips from the Trenches
AF readers share their strategies.

Tax Credit and Employer Assistance
• The Federal Adoption Tax Credit Explained
AF answers readers' questions about the tax credit.
As reported in AF Mar-Apr 2009 issue: Adoption tax credit rises to $11,650.
• How to Lobby Your Employer for Adoption Benefits
Here's a road map, including a sample letter, to persuade your employer to add adoption benefits.
• Top Adoption-Friendly Companies
Let's hear it for companies that get the message: Adoption benefits are vital in today's workplace

I CARE FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 19020
Baltimore, Maryland 21284
800-513-9896
info@intlcare.org
I CARE was created to help families meet adoption costs and to expand the opportunity for children to join loving families in the United States. I CARE accomplishes its goals by streamlining the process and helping to make adoption more affordable. They encourage exhausting all other available sources of funding first such as employer adoption assistance programs, tax credits, vacation savings accounts and making your desire to adopt known to your church family and your family and friends
GIFT OF ADOPTION FUND
www.giftofadoption.org
101 East Pier Street, 1st Floor
Port Washington, WI 53074
1-877-905-2367
info@giftofadoption.org

Gift of Adoption provides grants usually between $2,000 - $5,000. Applicants must have an approved home study before applying for a grant. You can apply online at https://www.giftofadoption.org/Grant.asp using a credit/debit card to pay the $20 application fee (e-mail Gift of Adoption for to apply for a grant without a credit/debit card). Grants are awarded based upon financial need and/or extraordinary hardship on the part of the adoptive parents or the child.
NATIONAL ADOPTION FOUNDATION
www.nafadopt.org
100 Mill Plain Road
Danbury, CT 06811
203-791-3811
Families can apply for outright grants from this organization. The grant program is open to all kinds of adoptions. There is no income requirement for applicants. Grants range from $500 to $4,000 and are available to prospective adoptive parents 4 times a year. Although there is no income requirement to apply, the NAF is inundated with grant requests so funds will be awarded to the neediest families first, depending on the funds available at the time of the application. More information can be found at http://.nafadopt.org/fund-your-adoption/fund-your-adoption.shtml

A great website for adoption Grants
http://www.dreamadoption.org/index.php/finances_panick_relief/adoption_grants
Adoption Grant Opportunities


A Child Waits Foundation
1136 Barker Road; Pittsfield, MA 01201
866-999-2445
www.achildwaits.org cnelson@achildwaits.org
This is a nonprofit charitable foundation providing grants and loans to prospective parents that lack savings to pay for the cost of adoption. Eligibility is based on financial need. Each case is judged individually.

Caroline’s Promise
1950 Beeson Road; Kernersville, NC 27284
336-993-9046
www.carolinespromise4u.org/assistance info@carolinespromise4u.org
Provides $3,000 grants to Christian Couples living in North Carolina

China Care Foundation
P. O. Box 607; Westport, CT 06881
203-227-3655
www.chinacare.org info@chinacare.org
They provide grants and/or low-interest loans to families who qualify by adopting special needs or older children. Typically $1,000 to $3,000.

Gift of Adoption Fund
101 East Pier Street, 1st Floor; Port Washington, WI 53074
262-268-1386 or 877-905-2367
www.giftofadoption.org info@giftofadoption.org
Provides grants regardless of marital status, race, creed, or national origin. The amounts vary between $2,000 and $5,000.

God's Grace Adoption Ministry
P. O. Box 4; Modesto, CA 95353
209-572-4539
www.ggam.org info@ggam.org
Provides grants to two parent Christian families ranging from $1,000 to $4,000.

Hadassah's Hope
20472 Crescent Bay, Suite 100, Lake Forest, CA 92630
949-600-5252
www.hadassahshope.org customerservice@hadassahshope.org
Striving to help families with the financial burdens of adopting internationally.

Hebrew Free Loan
131 Stewart Street, Suite 425, San Francisco, CA 94105
415-546-9902
www.hflasf.org info@hflasf.org
Provide interest free loans up to $10,000 for adopting families in Northern California

I CARE Foundation
P. O. Box 19020, Baltimore, MD 21284
800-513-9896
www.intlcare.org info@intlcare.org
Provides grants for international adoptions

International Adoption Resources
1080 Boranda Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94040
650-969-1819
www.theiar.org
International adoption grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 as funds are available.

Lifesong for Orphans
P. O. Box 40; 202 North Ford Street, Gridley, IL 61744
309-747-3556
www.lifesongfororphans.org info@lifesongfororphans.org
Christian organization provides matching grants and interest free 'covenant' loans to adopting families

National Council for Adoption
www.adoptioncouncil.org
Has established an adoption loan program with Bank of America
888-628-7700 priority code LODK

North American Council on Adoptable Children
800-470-6665 or 651-644-3036
www.nacac.org/adoptionsubsidy adoption.assistance@nacac.org
Provides adoption financial assistance information by state

Northwest Airlines Special Delivery
www.nwa.com/features/adopt.shtml
They Provide significant fare discounts for international adoptions.

Promise the Children
11939 Manchester Road, Suite 136, St.Louis, MO 63131
www.promisethechildren.org ptcstaff@swbell.net
Grant recipients are chosen without regard to age of adoptive parents, current family size, race or religion, or marital status. Adoption agency must be an approved agency.

Sea of Faces Foundation
6920-B Bradlick Shopping Center #200, Annandale, VA 22003
www.seaoffaces.org director@seaoffaces.org
Grants of $1,000 to $3,000 for professing
Christian families adopting from a developing country


Shaohanna's Hope
P. O. Box 647, Franklin, TN 37065
615-550-5600
www.shaohannahshope.org
They provide grant assistance to Christian families up to $7,000. Single parent adoptions are acceptable.

The ABBA Fund
P. O. Box 7880; Charlotte, NC 28271-7042
888-775-3422
www.abbafund.org
The ABBA Fund assists Christian couples who are committed to train and educate their children in accordance with Biblical Principles. They will grant interest free 'covenant' loans which do not require collateral or a promissory note.

HelpUsAdopt.org
http://www.helpusadopt.org/faqs.html
info@helpusadopt.org

Fee-Nominal Idea! (Updated)

Too help clarify our outreach fee program for our current families we have updated this post as of Oct 27, 2009.
In an effort to help prospective families expose their family profile to a larger circle of Arfican american and biracial birth mothers the Adoption Center of Choice is offering a new outreach program. In the past our agency required a registration fee, upfront, with additional fees due at the 45 day mark, at matching before a outreach placement could be made.

Now we are offering families access to our entire pool of outreach birth mothers. No fees will be required to have your famiy profile presented on a regular basis to our outreach birth mothers. Once you are matched with a birth mother and she is placing with your family will any fees be due.

For African American outreach if there is any reason for an interruption in the placement your family will be put back into our birth mother pool and we will again start advocating for you again. For Biracial outreach you can have the same service provided or a refund within 90 days.

There is no loss of funds what so ever. 100% protected guaranteed. We have put the financial burden squarely on our shoulders and lifted it from yours. Is there a catch? No catch, no registration fee is required.

For more information call Dave Williams at 801-473-9350