Simple Math.

*Please note: if you don't like talking about money & all this fundraising is making you squeamish, you can just skip this post. If you, like many others, are curious about adoption yourself or just curious as to what the costs might actually be - read on! This one's for you! ;)

I'm not sure what to type in this big, blank box. How does one go about explaining the 'cost' of having another baby? Although there are a handful of employers out there who have employer adoption benefits with an "adoption friendly workplace," there are many more that don't. There also isn't 'insurance' that covers adoption costs. And the fact that you have to come up with the funds in a relatively short amount of time, doesn't necessarily work in every one's favor either. But I've had plenty of people ask me, especially lately, "Well ... what does it cost to adopt?" And, of course, the answer to that varies ... just like no two snowflakes are never the same, neither are two adoptions, I read once.

But in a simple break-down, here are some of the costs that we've incurred:

• agency application fee - $250
• Homestudy fee - $1500 (through our local agency)
• Homestudy Review - $300 (charges for using our local agency)
• US Immigration Filings - $830
• Agency Fee Part I - $3000
• Int'l Proc. Fee Part I - $1700 (dossier processing fee included here)
• Document expenses - up to $360 or so (costs of verifying, authenticating & mailing paperwork, state fees & fees for foreign gov't offices)

• Agency Fee Part II - $1,000 (due about 6 mos after homestudy approval)
• Int'l Proc Fee Part II - $3,100 (same, in country legal expenses & fees are included)
• Int'l Proc. Fee Part III - $4,100 (at child acceptance)
• Post Placement Fees - $150-1000

• Child's US Entry Visa - $400
• Post Placement Services with FCA - $950
  
• US Finalization - $500-1500

Total Adoption Expenses $16,250 - 21,540
(and this doesn't even include travel costs of airfare, 2 trips, food, lodging, ground transportation, etc - it adds up fast!)

So, needless to say, costs are incurred & go up quickly. And because of two trips now, fees have actually increased with our program (thankfully, due to timing & payments, we were able to stay on our same original fee scale from when we first applied & were accepted).

And of course even these are just estimates, actual costs can vary to some degree. We're at about the Part II part of it all (which as you can see, can get quite taxing very fast, especially if you receive your referral around the same time). Never-mind the fact that we need another crib and another car seat! Sheesh ;) No, really, I just wanted to break it down & do the "simple math" version as I have people ask me weekly, and even though I explain, I can tell that sometimes it just doesn't seem to make sense.

We are so thankful to everyone who is trying to make this possible for us. It is amazing & energizing to feel the presence of so many of you saying, "your baby is important to me too". I have these little "benchmarks" in my head ... and one of those is that I am hoping we can reach $2000 by Thanksgiving ... will you help us do that? We are SO CLOSE!

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage - Lao Tzu