In the following posts, I talked about how some adoption agencies charge more to adopt a Caucasian baby than they do to adopt a non-Caucasian baby:

As I stated in those posts, I do not support the practice of putting non-Caucasian babies... more

In my last post, Adoption Cost: Putting Certain Races "On Sale", I talked about the practice of some adoption agencies charging different adoption fees based upon the race of the child adopted. In most of these situations, Caucasian babies cost more money to adopt than non-Caucasian babies through the same agency. I provided arguments for and against the practice of putting non-Caucasian babies "on sale" and asked for readers' opinions. One reader left the following comment:

I... more

A controversial area of adoption is providing discounts for adopting a child of a certain race. For example, an adoption agency might charge $20,000 for the domestic private adoption of a Caucasian newborn but only $15,000 for the domestic private adoption of an African-American or biracial newborn. Is providing a discount a practical way of providing more homes for children who might not otherwise be adopted, or is this blatant racism?

Arguments For the Practice

Those who believe it is a good thing to charge different rates argue that reducing... more

Why is adoption so expensive? That is the million-dollar question. Some people will say it is because adoption professionals are making money off adoptions. However, many agencies are not-for-profit and seemingly have no reason to “rip off” hopeful adoptive parents. For example, I truly believe that Catholic Social Services is seeking to do what they believe is best for the child as part of a ministry for the Catholic Church.

However, even a not-for-profit adoption agency is incredibly expensive. Our agency,... more

My husband’s #1 concern with adoption was how much an adoption was going to cost. I assumed it would expensive to the tune of $2,000, or maybe even $3,000. I about fell out of my chair when I learned that newborn adoptions cost $13,000 at one agency (back in 1998). I was even more surprised to learn that $13,000 was on the lower end of the cost of a newborn adoption, even though this was through a nonprofit agency.

When I went to an orientation for a different agency, I was surprised to learn that international... more

Adoption agencies set up their fee schedules in a variety of ways. Be sure to review the fee schedule and specifically ask what happens if an adoption falls through. In our agency, we paid for the application fee and the home study when each was completed. We did not pay the bulk of the fees until after the birthmother’s parental rights terminated, even though we had custody of Nicholas (as foster parents) during the ten-day period in which his birthmother had already signed the relinquishment papers but still... more

I am conducting a very unscientific survey here on my blog today. I'd like to know how much it cost to do your domestic, private adoption.

Please let me know if you used and agency or not, and if you can breakdown the costs (like attorney fee, agency fee, medical expenses, etc) that would be great.

The reason I ask is that 3 1/2 years ago when we were looking into domestic adoption we were told that it would costs upwards of $20,000...so we might as well consider going international. But I've been looking around and I see numbers a lot less than that...as well... more

When we were trying to decide how/where/who to adopt, the costs involved in adopting were one important factor. We were lucky because we had some money put aside (for our older son's college....sorry son, no college for you!) so we were actually able to consider multiple options for adoption: foster-to-adopt, private adoption (domestic) and various country programs.

Once we chose Russian adoption as the way we wanted to grow our family we found that costs varied between agencies as well as within the agency. Our agency charged lower fees for the adoption of older children,... more