[kieranterrier]

I'm just starting to look at adoption, although I've got friends who have adopted domestically and internationally. My biggest question, I guess, is this: why IS it so expensive to adopt? My husband and I have an income that is far above average, and yet I don't know if we'll every be able to come up with this kind of money.

I don't begrudge anyone the right to make a decent living, and I certainly don't expect agency personnel to work as volunteers, but it does seem like the fees are rather outrageous. Think of what even half of the money paid to an agency could do for the adopted child--a college fund is just one of many possibilities that comes to mind. Reducing the financial strain on the adopting family after the child comes home is another.

I've not been able to find any information on the basis for agency fees. Nor can I understand why some agencies charge different fees for babies of different ethnicities--why should it cost less to administer the adoption of a African-American child than for a Hispanic or Caucasian child, for example? Seems like its more of a "supply and demand" issue, which doesn't seem very ethical.

Most of the agencies I've investigated make light of their fees, placing the emphasis on the idea that "if you really want a baby you'll find a way to get the money". That may be true, but since they claim their primary goal is to place children in "forever homes." If they really want to place children, seems like they'd find a way to reduce the costs.

I'm not trying to be negative or critical of agencies... I'm just trying to get some answers that would make adoption feel less like a purchase.