Bailey Leaman is author of next 2015-2016 MLHS senior student editorial
Paying for Children?
Take a minute to think about the ways your family could help out a child from an unfit environment.
Could you give a supporting atmosphere? A warm place to to stay and food to eat?
This year, in the United States alone, more than 100,000 children are in need of a family to adopt them. Adoption can make an enormous impact on the lives of not only the adopted children, but also on the families that adopt.
However, the high cost of adoption can be a very big deterrent for a family wanting to adopt. The immediate costs for the adoption process, such as the cost of travel to get the child and the cost for court appearance, are what most people associate with adoption, but a lot of long-term costs are present as well, such as spending money on food and clothing for the child. The Child Welfare Information Gateway estimates that the average adoption of a newborn in the United States (U. S.) costs anywhere from $8,000-$40,000 – just for agency fees. In some states, the adopting family pays for the birth mother’s fees that can include maternity clothes and doctor visits. Outside of the U. S., that cost ranges from $15,000-$30,000, not including travel expenses.
After the adopting family has the child in their care, the long-term costs arise; in the U. S., the average cost is $245,000. The government can provide tax breaks and some companies offer grants to help with a small portion of these costs, but for the most part, the adopting family will be on their own to pay for the short- and long-term costs.
One of the most unncessary fees of adoption is the outrageously-high agency fees. According to author Kevin D. Hendricks, one of the reasons adoption costs so much is the government’s attempt to weed out potentially abusive or bad homes. Although the agency fee might help with that, the high price for just the immediate costs leaves less money for the family to provide a comfortable life for the child they adopt.
While the basic needs of food and clothes have to be me, many aspects of a “good” home cannot be provided by money, such as the love and support that a family can give the child. While adoption agencies still need to make sure a family is committed to the adoption process, the high cost of agency fees prevents many families from being able to adopt. If the cost was lower, I believe more families would consider adopting children, decreasing the number of children living without a permanent home.
For couples that cannot have children of their own, adoption is one of the few choices they have, but if they cannot afford to adopt, they will be less likely to have the experience every couple deserves to have if they choose to.
Adoption is such a huge gift to a child who is yearning for a forever home, but the high costs prevents many families from seriously considering adoption. Lowering the cost of adoption would make a huge positive impact, not only on the families wanting to adopt, but also on the lives of children who live without the comforts of a stable life with a permanent family of their own.