Latest Adoption Cost and Wait Time DataResults from Adoptive Families' 2009-2010 Cost & Timing of Adoption Survey
Each year, Adoptive Families polls readers to get the real story on the average cost and length of time it takes to complete an adoption. Here's what you shared about the wait time and cost to adopt a newborn or foster child in the U.S., or to adopt from one of the four largest, active sending countries, in the past two years. See results from previous years' surveys.
Find tips for financing adoption, learn ways to lower travel costs, read about how other parents did it, and much more in our guide to Affording Adoption.
U.S. Newborn
|
U.S. Newborn Adoption - Average Wait Time
Average time from preparation of portfolio to match with
birthmother (includes time spent in false starts):
Less than 3 months....................34%
4 to 6 months............................19%
7 to 12 months...........................20%
13 to 24 months.........................17%
Longer than 24 months...............10%
Time between birth and legal finalization:
Less than 6 months....................54%
7 to 12 months...........................38%
Longer than 12 months..................8%
- 35% of respondents experienced at least one false start.
- 15% were matched after the child had already been born.
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"Our adoption was very quick. Our paperwork wasn't even finished when we were matched with a birthmother who had already given birth. We had less than 24 hours to get our house ready, finish our paperwork, and get to the hospital to meet our son."
"We had been told the wait might be two years, but we waited exactly nine months between signing up with our agency and the baby's birth!"
"We were open to any race and some drug and alcohol exposure."
"Our wait was on the longer side because the birthfather was unknown, so we had to publish for him in a newspaper. Then you have to wait for a response."
"I think our non-profit agency took more time than needed because they are slow and understaffed."
"We experienced three false starts. But our daughter was meant to be with us."
|
U.S. Newborn Adoption - Average Cost
| |
Agency |
Attorney |
| Homestudy fee |
$1,912 |
$1,640 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$14,161 |
$6,413 |
| Attorney fees |
$3,548 |
$10,261 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$1,114 |
$640 |
| Advertising/networking |
$2,017 |
$3,259 |
| Birth family counseling |
$1,085 |
$483 |
| Birthmother expenses |
$3,076 |
$5,246 |
| Travel expenses |
$2,198 |
$1,895 |
| All other expenses |
$4,682 |
$1,628 |
| TOTAL |
$33,793 |
$31,465 |
- 35% of respondents experienced at least one false start. The majority (71%) of false starts cost less than $5,000.
|
U.S. Foster
|
U.S. Foster Adoption Wait Times
Average time from foster certification to placement of child ultimately adopted:
Less than 6 months....................48%
7 to 12 months...........................18%
13 to 18 months...........................9%
Longer than 18 months................25%
Time between placement and finalization:
Less than 6 months.....................15%
7 to 12 months............................33%
13 to 18 months..........................19%
19 to 24 months..........................15%
Longer than 2 years.....................18%
- 48% finalized the child's adoption within one year.
- Another 33% finalized within two years.
- 34% had placements that did not end in adoption.
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"In our county children who are younger than six have what is called an 'Expedited Permanency Plan.' This means that they try to have the child adopted within one year."
"Our placement was very quick because we specified we only wanted to take a pre-adoptive placement. This made a huge difference and resulted in our son coming to us with parental rights already terminated."
"It takes time for the child's case to go through the legal process and get to the point where parental rights can be terminated."
"Our process was slow because the birth family received the full amount of reunification services before termination of parental rights, and they contested most of the recommendations."
"There were unnecessary delays in paperwork. We had nine different social workers, because the case was complicated. Each new worker had to be gotten up to speed on what the previous worker did or did not do."
|
U.S. Foster Adoption - Average Cost
| Homestudy fee |
$231 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$0 |
| Attorney fees |
$1,573 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$0 |
| Advertising/networking |
$0 |
| Birth family counseling |
$0 |
| Birthmother expenses |
$0 |
| Travel expenses |
$342 |
| All other expenses |
$598 |
| TOTAL |
$2,744 |
- 78% of respondents receive an ongoing monthly subsidy. On average, the families receive $607/month.
|
China
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2009: 3,001
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2010: 3,401
|
China Adoption Wait Times
Average time from completion of dossier to referral*:
Less than 12 months....................53%
13 to 24 months............................4%
25 to 36 months...........................15%
37 to 48 months...........................20%
Longer than 4 years........................8%
* Shorter wait times generally reflect special-needs program.
Time from referral until child came home:
Less than 3 months.....................42%
4 to 6 months..............................25%
7 to 9 months..............................20%
Longer than 9 months..................13%
- 94% spent three weeks or less in China .
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"We chose special needs adoption. We were also open to either gender child. Both of these resulted in a referral just nine months after we submitted our medical checklist, and before we had finished our dossier."
"After waiting for three-and-a-half years in the regular program, we switched to special needs and received a referral four days later."
"We waited longer than four years. International adoptions slowed down tremendously when the Hague convention was enacted. There has also been an increased interest and demand in international adoptions, so the process became backlogged. We were waiting to adopt a healthy, young child and there is a long waiting list to do so from China."
|
China Adoption - Average Cost
| Homestudy fee |
$2,171 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$6,062 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$1,584 |
| Major travel expenses |
$6,644 |
| In-country travel expenses |
$2,055 |
| In-country adoption expenses |
$6,334 |
| Post-adoption expenses |
$933 |
| All other expenses |
$2,840 |
| TOTAL |
$28,623 |
|
Ethiopia
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2009: 2,277
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2010: 2,513
|
Ethiopia Adoption Wait Times
Average time from completion of dossier to referral:
Less than 3 months.....................53%
4 to 6 months...............................4%
7 to 9 months.............................15%
10 to 12 months..........................20%
13 to 18 months..........................20%
Longer than 18 months..................8%
Time from referral until child came home:
Less than 3 months.....................42%
4 to 6 months..............................25%
Longer than 6 months..................13%
- Of the 98% who traveled to adopt, 85% spent two weeks or less in Ethiopia .
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"We adopted a special-needs child, so our wait to referral was shorter than it would have been for a healthy infant. We waited four months, but other families from our agency who requested healthy infants were waiting 12 months or longer."
"Ethiopia has really slowed down. When we began the process, it was presented as affordable, fast, and the least stressful. It ended up being expensive, long, and difficult for us."
"Unfortunately, we got stuck in the switch over from 1 to 2 trips in Ethiopia, as well as the annual summer court closure. So we were delayed more than we should have been in bringing our son home."
|
Ethiopia Adoption - Average Cost
| Homestudy fee |
$2,019 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$11,380 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$1,679 |
| Major travel expenses |
$6,434 |
| In-country travel expenses |
$943 |
| In-country adoption expenses |
$2,327 |
| Post-adoption expenses |
$1,326 |
| All other expenses |
$2,146 |
| TOTAL |
$28,254 |
|
Russia
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2009: 1,586
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2010: 1,082
|
Russia Adoption Wait Times
Average time from completion of dossier to referral:
Less than 3 months......................40%
4 to 6 months..............................11%
7 to 12 months.............................22%
13 to 18 months............................9%
Longer than 18 months.................18%
Time from referral until child came home:
Less than 3 months......................18%
4 to 6 months...............................40%
7 to 9 months...............................24%
Longer than 9 months...................18%
- 44% took three or more trips to Russia to complete their adoptions.
- 36% spent three or more months in Russia, total.
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"I think it went quickly because it was at the end of the calendar year. People wanted to close cases before the winter holidays."
"We moved to a new home during the process, so we had to redo our homestudy and many other papers."
"We would have waited only three months between trips, but the [Torry] Hansen case caused our agency to lose their license and we had to switch to a different agency. Then, it took a while to transfer everything over."
"I think my wait was short because I requested an older child. It turned out perfectly -- she is my daughter in every single way!"
"Our dossier was placed in a region of Russia that was known for taking extra time to schedule the court date. This added a good six months to our process. The region you adopt from in Russia does make a difference!"
|
Russia Adoption - Average Cost
| Homestudy fee |
$1,831 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$18,441 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$2,432 |
| Major travel expenses |
$11,921 |
| In-country travel expenses |
$1,560 |
| In-country adoption expenses |
$7,653 |
| Post-adoption expenses |
$1,143 |
| All other expenses |
$4,768 |
| TOTAL |
$49,749 |
|
South Korea
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2009: 1,080
Adoptions to the U.S. in 2010: 863
|
South Korea Adoption Wait Times
Average time from completion of dossier to referral:
Less than 3 months....................24%
4 to 6 months............................25%
7 to 9 months............................24%
10 to 12 months.........................14%
Longer than 12 months...............13%
Time from referral until child came home:
Less than 3 months.....................49%
4 to 6 months..............................35%
Longer than 6 months..................16%
- Of the 71% who traveled to adopt, 50% spent one week or less in South Korea.
|
Reader comments on wait times:
"Since we found our son on a list of waiting children with special needs, there was no wait for referral."
"Referrals slow down at certain times of the year, and the South Korean government puts quotas on the number of children who can be adopted internationally."
"We wanted to spend time in Korea and learn as much as we could while we were there. I wish we had stayed even longer."
|
South Korea Adoption - Average Cost
| Homestudy fee |
$2,413 |
| Agency application & program fee |
$14,639 |
| Document preparation & authentication |
$1,352 |
| Major travel expenses |
$4,186 |
| In-country travel expenses |
$662 |
| In-country adoption expenses |
$9,534 |
| Post-adoption expenses |
$1,111 |
| All other expenses |
$3,689 |
| TOTAL |
$37,586 |
|
Cost Comparison
Cost Distribution
| |
Less than $5,000 |
$5,000 to $10,000 |
$10,000 to $20,000 |
$20,000 to $30,000 |
$30,000 to $40,000 |
$40,000 to $50,000 |
More than $50,000 |
| U.S. Agency |
2% |
5% |
29% |
34% |
22% |
5% |
3% |
| U.S. Independent |
8% |
8% |
24% |
31% |
20% |
5% |
5% |
| U.S. Foster |
90% |
7% |
3% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
| China |
0% |
0% |
6% |
69% |
24% |
1% |
0% |
| Ethiopia |
0% |
0% |
8% |
76% |
15% |
0% |
0% |
| Russia |
0% |
0% |
0% |
4% |
24% |
42% |
29% |
| South Korea |
0% |
0% |
2% |
60% |
37% |
2% |
0% |
Giving Back
To gather as much data as possible this year, we posed a challenge: If more than 1,600 people completed our Cost & Timing of Adoption Survey, we'd select one at random and donate $500 to the adoption charity of his or her choice.
We're thrilled to report that more than 1,800 adoptive parents completed this year's survey! The winner of our giveaway was Janeé Pedersen, and we were honored to donate to From HIV to Home.
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