How Much Does the Average Adoption Cost? We Break Down the Expenses Ahead of National Adoption Month

Wendee Wendt

October 18, 2022 at 2:34 PM·6 min read

Adoption is the legal process that permanently transfers parental responsibility from a child’s birth parents to their adoptive parents. Whether domestic or international, adoptive parents can be family or non-family members with varying circumstances—but with one goal in mind: to extend their love to an infant, child or teenager in an overcrowded system, through no fault of their own.

While many families and individuals long for children and would love to be able to adopt, it is not an inexpensive process or decision. So, how much is it to adopt a child? We cover this and more, including how many children are in the foster care system, why adoption is so expensive and resources to help curb the cost of adoption.

Because November is National Adoption Month, what better time to dive in and learn more about adoption costs, the different ways children can be placed into permanent homes and the various expenses that arise throughout the adoption process? Whether you're considering fostering or adopting a child, or want to support a friend or family member who is taking this step, this information will be helpful to grow your understanding.

How many children are in the foster care system?

The number of foster children in America alone is estimated at a staggering 107,918.

And if that number isn't shocking enough, most children in the system are averaging between seven to eight years old, and will most likely spend at least three years of their life in the foster care system before being adopted or aging out. Once you are 18 and a legal adult, you may continue to get government assistance, but you are no longer in the foster care system to be adopted.

There are four ways kids can be placed into permanent homes:

Reunification with birth parents
Adoption
Guardianship
Placed with relatives

My adoption experience

My mother was an unwed mother. The father didn’t want anything to do with having a kid and she was pressured into giving me up. There is more to the circumstances as to why I ended up in foster care, and then eventually adopted, but I leave it right there for privacy reasons.

I spent nine months in foster care until some of the legalities were worked through, and then lived with my eventual adoptive family for another nine months, until my adoption was finalized.

This time, every year, I give thanks to the universe for sending me a wonderful mom and dad, when mine were not able to take care of me. Though I have a wonderful relationship with my biological mother—going on almost 15 years now—I wouldn’t change my circumstances for the world. And that may be a hard pill for my bio mom to swallow, considering she feels guilty for putting me up for adoption. However, I wouldn’t be married to the love of my life, with two fantastic boys and living in our little home on the river in Michigan—if she hadn’t made such a difficult decision.

Related: 100 Heartwarming Adoption Quotes

Costs are a major roadblock to adoption

Although my mom can't remember how much my adoption cost, it couldn’t have been near what adoptions cost today because they didn’t have much during those times, and they were able to adopt two children in a five-year span.

That was 1978-79, and boy, were things different than they are today.

Laws, rules, regulations, fees and training in order to become adoptive families are driving costs to an all-time high. This deters some families from being able to continue with the adoption process.

How much does it cost to adopt a child?

How much does adoption cost? Typical costs of adoption through an agency can range (for an infant) anywhere from $8,000 - $40,000.

Adopting internationally is going to cost even more, starting around $10,000—sometimes reaching $40,000+, and that doesn’t take into account lodging and travel accommodations.

There is adoption assistance for those hopeful parents who are willing and able to foster a child and then adopt them. Each individual state's Department of Human Services runs these reasonable programs in which the most families can expect to pay is $2,500, but most costs are covered at 100 percent.

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act helps families adopting foster children who are eligible in two different ways:

Reimbursement for one-time adoption costs
Monthly maintenance payments to adoptive families for the child’s care

State adoption costs that are eligible for reimbursement include:

Home study (required for all adoptive families)
Travel expenses (even if adopting from another state)
Medical needs (including therapy, rehabilitation and special education)
Legal fees
Adoptive parent preparation and training

Why is adoption so expensive?

Because the majority of families trying to adopt are seeking to adopt an infant, they can expect to wait between six months to several years, including the 30-day waiting period for the biological family to change their mind. Department of Health and Human Services for each state, as well as independently run agencies (some of which have large pooling or strict waiting lists), can handle your adoption needs if you are interested in expanding your family.

While waiting for an available child to adopt, there is a long process and a lot of steps to take to ensure that a child goes to a suitable family.

Here is an example of the requirements and costs for domestic newborn adoption through an agency:

Home Study Fee: $2,268
Document Preparation & Authentication: $2,636
Agency Application & Program Fees: $16,962
Legal Fees: $4,141
Advertising & Networking: $2,340
Birth Family Counseling: $770
Birth Mother Expenses: $3,233
Foster Care: $201
Travel Expenses: $1,977
All Other Expenses: $5,438
TOTAL: $39,966

Ways to help curb adoption costs

Grants are available to families to help with adoption costs. Just search the internet, and check with the agency that you are working with to get assistance in finding out how to apply for one.

There is also a tax credit available through the US government, helping to promote adoption and support prospective families. While valuable, this credit can also be complicated to understand. There are classes to walk you through eligibility, how it works, tracking expenses and preparing you for your end-of-year tax planning.

Loans and fundraising (such as through GoFundMe) are two options that are becoming more popular as costs rise and families find it increasingly difficult to secure such a large amount of money.

The FMLA is designed to help adoptive parents, no matter the age of the child, to have some worry-free time with their child, without losing their jobs.

Below are the links to the government organization in each state that handles adoptions, and will have valuable resources to get you started on your adoption journey.