Parents have the tendency to overlook how lucky they are to have had the ability to create their own children. Many do not recognize what a true blessing it is to have kids, and that others are not fortunate enough to experience that miracle. Ten percent of couples endure infertility (Advantages) so they must consider other options. A very popular choice is adoption. It is not only a good alternative for the couple, but also for the child who needs a loving home.
While the idea of adoption sounds so perfect and great, one huge factor makes the adoption choice somewhat difficult. One would never think of putting a “price” on their own child yet adoption is extremely pricey. A couple looking to adopt better be prepared to spend roughly $35,000 (babycenter). Personally, that number shocked me. Who finds it necessary to put such a high cost on the love between parents and a child? What is more important, the fact that a child needs a good home and a family somewhere out there wants to become parents, or spending thousands of dollars to fulfill a need that is supposed to be priceless? The answer here is obvious, and there are multiple reasons as to why the cost of adoption should be lowered immensely.
Many people grow up in loving families and cannot imagine not having their parents and siblings around, but each year, 18,000 or more American born babies are put up for adoption (Newlin Carney). That means at least 18,000 children face the harsh truth of maybe not having a family to grow up in. Childhood is a very important part of one’s life and helps shape who one is. These children that are eligible to be adopted just need loving parents, good homes, and stability. And who is to say the high price of adopting is not ho...
... middle of paper ...
...money at all does not define the type of life the young boy or girl will receive. A couple who cannot spend that sum of money is just as capable as giving a child a good home as a couple who has millions of dollars can. Sure the less wealthy couple may not be a able to give their son or daughter the latest technology or fads, but they are more than capable of giving him or her love, care, and a place to call their home. Correct me if I am wrong, but that is what really matters. One cannot put a price on something as precious as family.
Works Cited
Newlin Carney, E. (). The Truth About Domestic Adoption. Adoptive Families, Retrieved from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=522
Hendricks, K. D. (2007, September 14). Why Is Adoption So Expensive [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.kevindhendricks.com/2007/09/14/why-is-adoption-so-expensive/
If the process is done through a non-profit agency, it costs from ten thousand to twenty-five thousand dollars. Attorney adoption, or independent adoption, usually runs from twenty thousand to thirty thousand dollars. The process is so expensive because the adoption agency must pay highly educated social workers to do home studies. Other expenses that are automatic are the cost of counseling, termination of birthparents’ rights, and post-placement supervision. Other things that could require additional costs are educational resources and materials, depending on the agency, as well as help to run the agency as a typical business. Some non-profit organizations receive grants and loans, but they are normally only for projects to better the services (“Independent Adoption Center”). States and agencies are starting to use a new formula that is not based off the ethnicity of the child, since Caucasian children tend to cost more because of high demand. The new formula figures the cost of adoption based on the family’s income annually, but this will still make adopting a taxing process. For one family the cost of adoption for a white child was thirty-five thousand, eighteen thousand for a full African American child, and twenty-four thousand for a biracial child (NPR
When a couple or individual decides to adopt a child, they know they are going to take on the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s child. Due to the biological parent(s) who can’t take care of that child anymore, because of either drug abuse, alcohol abuse, abuse to the child or if the parent(s) had died and there is no other care for the child. So that’s why this gives other couples who cannot have kids, the opportunity to promise themselves to be a great parent to a child in need. Though there are some bad things about adoption as well. Like adopting a child from another country of another race, because once that child is adopted into an American family, he or she will be cut off from their culture and never know about their history. Everyone should to know about their culture and history.
When I heard the clicks of heels in the hallway, I sat up attentively on the waiting couch. A pleasant looking woman came to greet me. She was in her mid fifties and introduced herself as Celeste Drury. She worked with the children home society, an adoption agency that is located in Oakland. I found Celeste through a family friend. The family friend knew my interest in learning about adoption and the criteria used for adoption processes. I was excited to meet Celeste and to learn about what she did. Settling in my chair, Celeste slightly cheered me. Celeste orphanage was licensed under the adoption agencies act. It has been in existence for many years. Children home society is in charge of providing adoption services in the entire state of California. I asked Celeste of its role and she said that it “helps parents to make informed decisions about their children, and also give tips on the adoptive parents” (Drury).
In 2002, 51,000 children were adopted through the foster care system. The federal government tracks the number of adoptions from the United States foster care system, and all of its international adoptions. It’s estimated that around 120,000 children are adopted by U.S citizens each year. Half of these children are adopted by individuals not related to t...
Many aspiring foster parent anticipated the increase in their expenses once they added a member in their family but one thing that surprised many is that there is a upfront cost that they will need to pay before they received their adoptee. “You may be shocked to learn that there are few costs to adopting a child. Or you may be surprised to discover that not every adoption costs thousands of dollars.” (financing). Theres is no recruitment agency that will cover that cost not even the government. And I think some people who planned to adopt and once they realized the cost that they need to pay first, they back out and the will keep the children in the foster care and that’s why we have a lot of kids there. The organization that I chose helps the potential foster parents to understand their options to how they can afford to
Wikipedia contributors. "Adoption." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Adoption is in place to balance, to nurture and create a structural environment of safety in which the child can thrive and develop into a productive individual contributing to society. Also, it allows older children to abandon old maladaptive behaviors and make their first steps toward the construction of new behaviors influenced by their new environment. In years past, parents who adopted a child as an infant often debated whether to tell him or her about the adoption. Many children grew up not knowing they were adopted, and the birth mother’s identity was kept secret from those who did know (Ashford, LeCroy and Lortie 249). This paper provides facts on widely acceptance option of open adoption rather than the traditional practice of closed adoption. Adoption separates real biological family members, removing the adopter heritage whether the adoption is open or closed. Open adoption can lead to problems, but there are proven facts that open adoption is the best option for all parties working together in the best interest of the children.
“What Is the Cost of Adoption from Foster Care?” What Does It Cost?, Adoption Exchange Association , 2017,
Think back to your very first memory. Are you baking cookies with your mother? Are you throwing a baseball with your dad? Now, imagine your childhood if you did not grow up with a loving family who supported you and cared for you. Alternatively, maybe you grew up in a negative environment therefore; you understand what it is like to feel unloved. What does this have to do with adoption? There are over 1.5 million children without a family in the United States. 1.5 million children do not know what it is like to feel as though they have a purpose. The only way to solve this problem is through adoption because it provides that positive environment that the child never had. Through my research, I have found that domestic adoption is a better option for families in the United States, versus international adoption. One of the main reasons it is a better option is that domestic adoption is much less expensive in the end. A second reason domestic adoption is superior is that it is a faster process. It is quicker because the parents do not have to go through the stubborn and often very difficult adoption agencies. Also, you do not have to travel to the foreign country multiple times to meet with the agency and go through all the extensive paperwork. The last reason domestic adoption is the better option is that the child has the option to meet his or her birth parents later in life. A child who is adopted internationally often does not have any family records or medical history. Despite people saying there is not a need for adoption in the United States, as of the Census in 2000, there are over 1.5 million children ready to be adopted nationally.
In this time where science makes dreams feasible, and what years ago was saw to be difficult, now is promising, for this reason is okay and respectable when a traditional married couple try different methods to become parents. There are many treatments to solve this issue, such as in vitro fertilization, use of hormones, and the most new and revolutionary; ‘shop a gamete or baby’ the same as you shop for a car or a house; you can pick the color of the eyes, the color of the hair and the physique you want. Inside out is important to mention, all these treatments are not entirely effective. So what happens when all the resources are exhausted? The possibility to adopt a child who needs a family can be one of the best options, and the most valued accomplishment for this married couple. Scott Simon says “Many couples pay tens of thousands of dollars for rounds of medical wizardry instead of adopting children who are already among us, crying for our love and support” (The case for Adoption, par. 2). In America and other countries, the number of children waiting for the opportunity to be adopted by a family is immense; these children are waiting for someone to rescue them, hoping for love and safety before it is too late for them.
The cost of adoption mainly depends on what kind of child one wants to adopt. Where you are adopting from has a major impact on cost also. The price for a healthy white baby is generally in the $15, 000 price range, but can easily reach up to $25,000(Ademec 68). A black or biracial baby is substantially less in cost. Also a baby with health problems will generally be lower in cost(Ademec 68). When you first apply to an adoption agency, the first fees you will pay are the application fees. These fees range up to several hundred dollars or more. The next fees you will pay are the home study fees. The median price range runs around $1,500 to $2,000 dollar range. The most expensive fee for adoption is the placement fee, which will generally be priced from $10,000 and up(Ademec 69). But if the child is from another country, you will have to visit it. ...
For a mother or father to learn that their adopted child, who they believed was an orphan, actually has a caring and loving family is heartbreaking. Adoptive parents feel guilty. The children yearn for their true home. The biological family feels deceived and desire for their child to return. This situation is far too familiar within intercountry adoption cases. Many children are pulled away from home, put into orphanages, and painted as helpless orphans. The actions perpetrated by adoption agencies reflects an underlying network of corruption and exploitation. This is not for the purpose of discouraging international adoption, but to shed light on the horrific practices taking place behind the scenes. Intercountry adoptions are often tangled
As parents we attempt to make decisions that will benefit our child. The most terrifying thing about parenting is not knowing what the outcomes will be, especially outside of the immediate situation. This is true even in the case of deciding not to parent. When a person chooses to give a child up for adoption, the core of the choice is in some way the thought that the child will be better off being parented by another. This choice is profound and can have many outcomes.
If you have ever considered adopting a newborn, or a child under the age of three, then you have undoubtedly recognized that the price affiliated with this type of adoption is outrageously expensive. Some adoptions costing in the upper $40,000 range. When there are so many children in foster care already, why are the costs of adoption so extreme? How is the adoption process broken down into these fees? What do adoptive candidates have to go through in order to adopt a baby? Is the foster care system failing the children it currently serves? Why are more birth mothers choosing the unsightly demise of abortion rather than adoption? Do these women who choose abortion know all their options when it comes to their unborn child? Is there enough
Public adoption agencies are run by the state, and are therefore much cheaper or possibly even free. Generally the public adoption agencies focus primarily on special-needs adoptions, as opposed to an infant or international adoptions. They accept applications for older children, children with special needs, or children with siblings. Children in the public adoption system have predominantly been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their birth parents, which indicates the children could have emotional and physical scars requiring extra attention and care from an unfamiliar family. A private adoption agency is licensed by the state, but not paid for by the state, and can become quite pricey for families looking to adopt. According to parents.com, an adoption from a private agency can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000. Private agencies execute adoptions domestically as well as internationally. They can provide a wider span of options since they are not funded by the state, and adoptive parents are already expecting to pay a greater amount. Adopting independently implies that you are in direct contact with the birth mother, and you have an adoption attorney assisting you in the process of adoption. Finding a birth mother in an independent adoption may require sending out your information to pregnancy crisis centers, posting it on the internet, or