Cost Breakdown of Adoption

I have had a lot of people ask what our adoption costs and why it costs so much. So I thought I would spell it out to give others an idea of what we have spent so far and what we still need to raise.

Home Study Agency -
Application, Home Study, and one Home Study update: $2500

Placing Agency -
Application $150
1st Agency Fee - $1,900
2nd Agency Fee - $3,200
CCAA Fee - $1,050

Immigration Approval for 2 adults
Fingerprinting $140
Application - $580

Passports - $130

Certification & Authentication of dossier documents - $600 (approx.)

All that has been paid so far. The placement agency fees cover the work done to review our paperwork, translate it to Chinese, and send it to the CCAA.

Yet to go:
Placement Agency
Post-placement deposit - $500 (refunded after we turn in all of our post-placement reports)
Travel costs (10-14 days) - estimated to be around $4000 for airfare, $2,400 for in country transportation and lodging , $700 for food ($7,300 total)
Adoption Registration & Notarization with local government in China - $400-800
Child's Passport $100-$150
Orphanage fee $5,000
Child's physical and photo $80
Child's Visa to U.S. $400
Post-placement reports $1200
Court costs to readopt here - $1000

Total: Approx. $26,680
It certainly adds up! Not included is any spending money for while we're overseas and we certainly plan to do so to help bring back items for our daughter from her home country.

I absolutely hate hearing comments like "how much did you spend to get your child?" or "They bought their child overseas". The fees are all fairly reasonable and go to people that do the work to help get the child to their permanent home. As an adoption worker, I understand that we need to keep the lights on, the copier running, computers up to date, phones working, pay rent, and even pay a little salary.

Besides, would you ask someone how much they or their insurance paid the hospital, doctors, lab technicians, nurses, assistants, radiologists and everyone else involved in a child's birth? Think about how much people spend for a new car - a physical item that just loses value.

So if anyone has been wondering what exactly we are spending our adoption money on, this is it. No apologies - our daughter is priceless.

Jen & Drew