[jaenelle]

DH and I are open to any race and nearly have our homestudy completed. We are currently assuming we will do our placement through the agency that did our homestudy, but I also think they are fairly expensive. I'd like to learn about other agencies that would be less than $13,000 or so all told, because we don't make all that much money and while we can afford this agency's fees, it would obviously be easier on us to go through a less expensive agency. I think there may be a few agencies that reduce fees for AA/biracial babies and I'd love to hear about those especially. Thanks in advance.

[jaenelle]

I'm *bumping* this in hopes of more ideas! Thanks!

[Linny]

I'll tell you....being the momma to two Asian babies (now grown) and two AA babies (still pre-schoolers).....I think you'll find that, anymore... the fees for all babies tend to be the same across the board.

13K sounds bad.....is a little high....but I assure you that it really isn't compared to the recent fees I"m seeing over the last six months. (And I keep a pretty good touch on the pulse of adoption agencies and fees, practices, etc.) It would depend on whether this fee includes finalization and all legalities involved. If it doesn't...then the agency is usually charging too much. IF it does....this isn't too 'over the top' in a lot of places.

Unfortunately, when the federal adoption tax credit came into place, a lot of agencies/facilitators and attorneys USED that concept as an excuse to RAISE their OWN FEES. This is unfortunate....because a lot of people aren't able to use that credit---especially after their first or second adoption.

I'll tell you what I have done too........I have actually googled a particular state: For instance:
Indiana adoption agencies.
A long list will apear. Copy it off, and just start calling. Have a list of previously prepared questions to ask all of them:

What are your average fees for an entire adoption?
What do you charge for a homestudy?
What kind of arrangements do you require between birthmothers and adoptive couples...or do you allow them to determine this themselves with the agency as the mediator?
What's the average wait for a baby through your agency?
What kind of money do you require up front?
(And STAY AWAY from ANY ENTITY that requires any kind of moderate to big time fee up front...even if they say they'll 'roll it over into another situation'. IMO, these agencies are not worth the working with....but that's just my opinion.)

These are just some of the few questions to ask. You'd be surprised how much info you can gather this way; and if you don't find one you like right off of the bat, I guarantee that you'll learn more and more about adoption in general.

I hope this helps. Please Pm me if I can be of any further help to you.

Sincerely,

Linny

[megaphonemo]

Sorry, Linny, I have to disagree. Through my agency, the minority program is less than 1/2 the cost of the caucasian program.... and the minority program is less than $13K....


PM me if you want details......

We only entered the minority program and as you can see by our timeline below, were placed in 4 months..... Agency is big too, pretty much all of the east coast is covered.....

[jaenelle]

Originally Posted by megaphonemo

Sorry, Linny, I have to disagree. Through my agency, the minority program is less than 1/2 the cost of the caucasian program.... and the minority program is less than $13K....


PM me if you want details......

We only entered the minority program and as you can see by our timeline below, were placed in 4 months..... Agency is big too, pretty much all of the east coast is covered.....

Can I have a link to your agency, please?

[AbqLiz]

I would like a link as well.


Thank you!

[NMO]

Me too please!

[Nicoel]

I would love it if you could PM me the agency info as well. Thanks!

[TrustingInHim]

Could I have a link too please?

[Linny]

If you'll re-read my original post, I was merely stating that this 13k fee seems to be commonplace anymore. And, that there are often exceptions to the agency fees.

For all three of our adoptions....we spent under 10K; but slightly more for the last one if you consider the homestudy and travel, etc.

There are always exceptions to fees and I can vouch for that. And, one can always consider going through an attorney who networks too. From our experience in receiving a quote and knowing others who have adopted from this attorney, the fees are often around 5-8k.

Our policy was never to put out more than application monies up front for any situation (well under $300). Only pay money when the baby was relinquished and completely adoptable.

My best to you in your adoption pursuit.

Sincerely,

Linny

[MB80sgirl]

Can you PM me the info on the agency too? We're looking to adopt a second baby in the next few months. Ideally we'd like an AA baby girl between 6-9 months, older than newborn so they can tell if she has developmental delays or special needs (our first one turned out to have many delays & we'd like to avoid this if it's possible with the next one) & still young enoughthat the attachment wont be too difficult. Also we'd like to experience a 1st birthday, since our 1st one (from Haiti) was over a year when she finally came home. Does anyone know how easy or possible this would be or how long it would take? We live in WI & our state would be our 1st choice but we're open to any state.

[Rebecca G.]

Could I also have a link to the agency?
Thanks

[tajmu311]

I would love to have any information anyone can provide regarding low cost agencies that have fairly quick placements for AA or biracial newborns. DH and I are open to any race/ethnicity, either gender, and minor correctable handicaps and have been waiting for over 10 months with NO propects. We haven't even had our profile presented yet! I am beyond anxious and we are considering changing agencies once our homestudy in renewed in May.

Thanks for your help!

[naca]

I agree, its very sad that in our country AA /biracial babies aren't "worth" as much as plain ole white babies. I have seen significant reductions in several agencies if you are willing to take an AA/biracial baby! ugh
With that said, I do know of an agency in Mississippi that has an income based adoption for AA/Biracial newborns. The highest fee is 8,000! Feel free to email me and I'll send you a link, I'm not sure if we're allowed to post agency names on here or not?!

[praying4ourbaby]

I would love to get info on this MS agency. My husband and I are wanting to adopt from MS, but are not wanting to pay an enormous fee. I have done some research and have considered some agencies outside of MS, but would love to be able to work with an agency in the state. If you would be willing to share the name of the agency by PM, it would be greatly appreciated.