Free Adoption

Free adoption is a colloquial way to refer to public or older child adoption. The term "free adoption" comes from the comparatively free cost of older child adoption to infant or private adoptions. Free adoption is not necessarily "free," but is usually supported by federal and state reimbursements and financial assistance that cover all adoption fees and expenses in public adoptions. This assistance depends largely on the special needs of the adopted child but can also take into consideration the financial standing of an adoptive parent. Most often, these reimbursement are meant to cover the cost of the home study, which can be a few thousand dollars.

Free adoption is less politically correct than public or older child adoption, simply because of the sensitivity toward terms that make adoption sound like a monetary transaction or a business. It can also give a poor connotation to the child being adopted because of the comparative quality to fees paid to adopt other children.

Other kinds of adoptions can be made "free" with the help of adoption tax credits. The adoption tax credit, which can only be claimed after an adoption is finalized, can be claimed up to $13,701. Although this may only pay a third of an international or independent adoption, this credit may be enough to alleviate the heavy cost of adoption fees unrelated to the public realm of adoption.