I know that many people are going to tell you otherwise, but I wish I would have listened when people advised me about avoiding the foster adopt route. Yes, it's less expensive, but it is a million times harder and more stressful than adoption alone. We had two babies ripped from our arms, and it was horrible. One went back to heroine addicts, and the other baby was placed in another state with other foster parents. We were lied to the entire time we had them (we were told we would be able to adopt for over 6 months), and I wish we had just started with an agency or lawyer first. We are now with a wonderful agency, and it is almost a zero stress level compared to fostering. I will never have to worry about having another baby in my arms and then having it ripped away.
My suggestion is talk to an adoption attorney and start requesting information from adoption agencies. I would avoid state systems or any agency that is affiliated with the state. If money is an issure start saving now. If you find a good reasonable agency, the costs are not that much when you figure in your tax credit. All in all we will end up with less than $5,000 in our domestic newborn adoption. I wish I would have know that before we went through all of the heartbreak. I wouldn't do it again for $100,000 up front. |