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.

About Us and the Adoption

We (Todd and Lisa) talked about adoption even before we were married. We agreed that it was something we would do...one day. And that day is finally here!

Background

We met and got married in Atlanta, Georgia and our son was born there. When he was five months old, we moved to Richmond, Virginia for Todd to begin work on a PhD in clinical psychology. Lisa worked full time and life was pretty hectic. While we lived in Richmond, our daughter was born. We continued to talk about adoption as something we would do when life became more settled.

When our children were 4 and 1, we moved to Minneapolis for Todd to do an internship as part of his PhD requirements. We weren't sure what to expect since we would only be there for a year and it seemed so far away from what we knew, but we loved Minneapolis and quickly felt at home there.

After completing his dissertation and internship, Todd was able to find a full-time job as a staff psychologist at a VA hospital...back in Virginia. We began to settle here and talked again about adoption, but first we needed to get our finances in order. Todd was blessed to complete graduate school without any debt, but we were still in no position to begin funding an adoption. We worked to cut our expenses and Todd took on extra work teaching for Liberty University. Finally, we were ready!

Starting the Process

We began the paperwork for the adoption in the fall of 2011. We knew we wanted to do an international adoption and had several countries in mind. Bulgaria seemed like the best fit. Todd had been there 3 times to teach, so he was familiar with the country, and they had a good, solid, Hague-accredited program. We applied, were approved, and we waited.

The Children

Our social worker called on January 8, 2014 and we assumed it was just a check-in call since we weren't expecting a referral until the summer. We were shocked to learn that she had our referral! We were matched with a brother (age 5) and sister (age 6) in a small village in Bulgaria. Our first trip would be at the end of February and we would arrive in Bulgaria on Lisa's birthday.

Next Steps

We had a wonderful first trip and hope to go back to Bulgaria to bring the children home in June. In the meantime, we are getting our house ready and working to raise the $25,000 we need to complete the adoption.