Domestic Adoption in Struggling Economy
Potential Parents Finding More Opportunities to Adopt
Jan 22, 2009
As the U.S. faces its most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression, social services organizations are reporting record numbers of applicants seeking financial assistance. Many are families with children – and some with babies on the way – struggling to survive. While birthparents choose adoption for various reasons, many consider the financial realities of raising children when facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Domestic Adoption Costs
Potential adoptive parents, on the other hand, live in the same stale economy. According to surveys taken by readers of Adoptive Families magazine, from 2003 to 2007 the average cost of a domestic adoption was less than $20,000. Add to that the financial risks of adoption. Although some might view these factors as reasons to postpone plans to adopt, domestic adoptions actually increase during tough economic times, according to adoption professionals.
Surge of Birthparents Asking for Help
Lifetime Adoption is a registered adoption facilitator in California. During a teleconference with potential adoptive parents on Oct. 13, 2008, Lifetime founder and director Mardie Caldwell discussed the economy’s effect on birthmothers. Caldwell said there were times last fall when all 27 of the organization’s incoming telephone lines were filled with birthmothers interested in adoption.
Heather Featherston, director of adoption services for Lifetime Adoption, said it’s not just pregnant women asking for help. Mothers with young children also are calling. Featherston said these women are looking for a better life for their children. For some, adoption is the solution.
Birthmothers Seek Stability
Caldwell urges potential adoptive parents to plan ahead for their adoption, especially in light of the current economy. “(Birthmothers) want something more than they’re facing right now, so it’s important that the parents that want to adopt are really ready emotionally, financially, socially … and ready to be parents in a short period of time,” she said.
Adoptive parents should include evidence of financial stability in the parent profile because birthmothers will notice, Caldwell said. Worth mentioning are a long-term job, a stay-at-home parent, home ownership and generous life or health insurance. Caldwell recommends adoptive parents investigate funding opportunities, including grants, federal and state adoption tax credits, and employer, military and insurance benefits. Parents also should announce their adoption plans. Fundraisers, garage sales and monetary gifts will add up and help pay adoption expenses.
Foster Care Adoption on the Rise
Some state agencies also are seeing increases in foster care adoptions. Mississippi ended last fiscal year June 30, 2008, with a 19 percent increase in foster care adoptions over the previous year, according to Julia Bryan, public information officer for the Mississippi Department of Human Services. That’s on top of a 20 percent increase for the year ending June 30, 2007.
Bryan said the number of children in Mississippi’s foster care system – about 3,500 – has remained steady during recent years. The growth in foster care adoptions is likely due, Bryan said, to increased publicity and ads highlighting the need for foster parents and permanent homes for children.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption reports that more than 129,000 children in foster care are now available for adoption. Most foster care adoptions are completed for less than $2,500 – considerably less than most private adoptions. If a family qualifies, the entire adoption could be paid for with grants or state adoption subsidies.
By planning ahead, potential adoptive families determined to parent a child in need of a home and willing to undertake the risks of adoption are likely to welcome their child home in the current economy.
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