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In our two independent adoptions we DID use and agency but those costs were very minor compared to all of the other stuff. We used agencies to provide birth parent counseling and education. They also provided great resources which ended up saving us a whole lot of money. For instance it was the agency that set up the medical stuff and WIC and helped in one case to find housing etc so what we paid was well worth it. By providing those resources it allowed our kid's birth moms to make an educated decision. They had all of the resources they needed to parent so choosing an adoption plan was not one of obligation.
WIth all of that said we spent $8,200 for one adoption which broke down to $4,200 Attorney, $1,250 homestudy, $1,500 medicals that weren't covered, $700 ASP (special SW in California) and the rest went to the agency (about $500)
In our second independent adoption it was around $15,000 but only $1,000 went to the agency and the bulk of that was a per diem for fostercare fro nearly a week. The big expenses were related to the fact that it was an out of state adoption so many of the larger fees were doubled: two Attorneys, two ASPs etc. Then there was the travel and wait for ICPC clearnace. The last minute fight hotel, food and car rental for three weeks was a big factor in that cost. If we had stayed local it would have cost less then half of that.
lisa
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