Adoption Rates

Adoption rates and expenses differ between adoption styles and processes. By nature, a public domestic adoption will have fewer expenses than a private infant adoption, in which adoptive parents pay for services that benefit the future birth mother of the infant they will be placed with.

International adoption is also expensive, although the upper limit of adoption fees hinge on travel costs. England may appear to have higher adoption rates than Ethiopia based on the country's economy as well as the expenses needed to travel to and from the country (sometimes twice) and stay in the country until the adoption is finalized. Many international adoptions also require adopters to give a donation to the agency or orphanage from which their adopted child was placed.

On average, a public adoption, the adoption of older children from foster care, will have the fewest fees with the sole largest expense being the home study, which costs a few thousand dollars. Sometimes, these fees are reimbursed by the state or federal government.

Infant adoption is more costly due to birth mother counseling, travel, medical expenses, lodging and delivery fees. Some states may also allow adopters to purchase food and maternity clothes. Infant adoptions, both private and independent, can cost anywhere form $5,000 to over $40,000. Similarly, international adoptions cost anywhere from $8,000 to over $40,000. These adoption rates have large gaps in them because very few adoption experiences are predictable. Talking to an attorney about legal regulations for adoption fees and expenses can help keep one's rates low and prevent couples from being swindled out of money they may not have had to pay.