Please read part 1 of this post here.

So - back to the original point: buying a baby. Why does adopting internationally cost so much? Here are some reasons for the hefty price tag:

• Lawyers run adoption agencies (or at least are employed by them) and we all know lawyers ain't cheap.



• Social workers work for adoption agencies. They deserve to be paid a living wage, don't they?



• Adoption agencies are typically not run out of someone's basement. Rent, electricity, heat, computers...all cost money.



• Non-profit does not equal nobody makes money. I believe that people who are good at their jobs and rise to the top of their profession should be paid a living wage, whether or not they are doing "good" or not. In fact, I think "do-gooders" should make more money than people whose jobs it is to simply make money. It doesn't work like that, but you know what I'm saying.



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• Non-profit also doesn't mean that the organization doesn't have to do stuff like advertise, recruit, educate, etc. Again, it all costs money.



• Adopting a child in a foreign country involves a team of people. These people deserve to get paid, don't they? Our facilitator, translators, and drivers in Russia did an amazingly good job at getting us where we needed to be and making sure everything went smoothly. Shouldn't they be paid for their time?



• Many agencies offer scholarships or help subsidize the adoption of older or special needs adoptions. They do this by taking the money they've charged people who are adopting a "more desirable" child and using it to help people who are adopting a "less desirable" child.



• All agencies I've looked at, for personal as well as professional reasons, also have some component of charity built in. Perhaps they host a summer program, or build playgrounds, or support medical care for a specific orphanage. These are the typical things they might do. Money spent on international adoptions helps fund these good works.



• In many countries, a certain amount of money is given directly to the orphanage. Again, not to the birthmother but certainly supporting children in the orphanage.

What else costs money in the process? I've said this in my Russian Adoption Blog - travel cost us an arm and a leg. At least $10,000 and now that the second stay in-country has gone up to 2-3 weeks that cost is going higher and higher.

Are bribes part of the cost? Heck if I know! I would like to think not...but in some parts of the world money makes the wheels turn faster.

What do you think? Is international adoption really buying a baby?

Here is part 3 of this post.