Map of Bulgaria

Map of Bulgaria
Map of Bulgaria

Friday, April 18, 2014

Why is Adoption so Expensive?

This is probably the question we get asked the most about adoption. (Second place goes to, "do they speak English?" Answer: No.) 

Why is adoption so expensive? The short answer is: to protect the children.

That's what it all boils down to. Sometimes I tell people to think about it this way - if you had to spend $25,000 to $30,000 to rescue your child from the possibility of being trafficked or turning to a life of crime in another country, would you do it? Of course you would. (Domestic adoption is just as expensive, and sometimes the future for the orphaned or unwanted child is just as grim.) 

There are fees associated with everything in the adoption process, but when done properly (and as a Hague convention country, Bulgaria does it as properly as they can in this imperfect world), no one gets rich. There are costs when we travel (airfare, food); fees for our translator and the apartment or hotel we stay in; the various social workers (homestudy agency, placing agency, NGO in Bulgaria) need to earn a salary and they are definitely doing it because they love the work, not because it pays well. 

The orphanages and foster families need funds to provide for the children, and to screen and train staff and foster families to protect the children. FedEx. Fingerprinting. Copies. Translations. Apostille. Notary. Medical exams. None of the fees in themselves seems outrageous when you think about the work being done, but it does add up quickly.

In all, adopting R and S will cost at least $55,000. That does not include the things we need to buy to welcome them home - beds, clothes, shoes, toys, etc. - or the post-adoption report fees (I'm guessing at least another $5,000).

To date, we have contributed more than $30,000 to the adoption and we are trying to raise at least $25,000 to cover the remaining fees and travel. We've cut our budget in every way we can think of, Todd continues to drive his 1996 Mazda and he has also taken on extra work for the past couple of years to fund the adoption. We've had a few fundraisers, but now the fundraising begins in earnest.

If you would like to contribute to our adoption fund, keep reading the blog and I will update the Fundraising sidebar as we plan events. Just like all the little adoption fees add up, all the contributions add up, too. If you can only give $10, we would be grateful. Really and truly. If you can contribute something to the yard sale or Facebook auction, that would be awesome.

I used to question why adoption is so expensive, but now that we are on the "front lines," it makes sense. It's all about the kids.

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