As promised, the cost breakdown....

Ugghhhh, this is the part EVERYONE hates!!! So many people do not adopt because of this! It is so sad that it comes down to money but everything we have read and learned from adoption is that you should not make it about the money (although kinda hard with those costs). So here is the breakdown. Look if only if you have a strong heart!!!

Catholic Charities as our Home Study Agency

New Home study, facilitation, and 3 post-placement visits for Maryland is $4,750. Plus $350 for each of the additional four post-placement visits required by China. Total of $6,150 for the new home study (plus fingerprinting & background checks). No Application fee with second adoption (regularly $300) No Hague training because we already did it (regularly $250)

Holt International as our Adoption Agency:

Application Fee $300 This fee covers the cost to review the application & determine the best direction to take with the adoption process.

U.S. Processing Fee (WAS $3,000 & Holt just discounted it to $1,500) The processing fee covers Holt's cost to facilitate the adoption with agency & government officials in the US & China. Processing expenses for Holt include – but are not limited to – personnel costs, administrative overhead, operational costs, staff training & education, communications & publications costs. This fee also covers registration & translation costs related to submitting your dossier.

Document Processing Fee: DISCOUNTED FROM $600 to $150 BECAUSE NOT AS MUCH PREPARATION IS REQUIRED BY REUSING OUR PREVIOUS DOSSIER: Holt staff will assist in obtaining vital records needed for the dossier & have the documents certified as required by county, state, federal & foreign governments. They will also make necessary photocopies & mount photographs required for your dossier. This does not cover fees charged by gov’t offices to certify the documents nor the cost to mail documents via Federal Express or priority mail.

Adoption Program Fee: CHINA IS $9,360 (includes special focus child discount of $2,000) 
The adoption program fee helps cover the cost to facilitate the adoption in CHINA. This includes, but is not limited to, costs for personnel, administrative overhead, training, education, legal services & communications, working with gov’t & agency authorities, legal fees, & passport & visa fees. It also covers costs related to the care of our child prior to adoption, including – but not limited to – costs for food, clothing, shelter, medical care, foster care, orphanage care, & any other services provided directly to our child. It also includes any mandatory donations required by child welfare authorities. This fee may also cover child welfare projects in China.

USCIS application $805-$1,250 
(COST US ABOUT $1,100 LAST TIME & MUST BE DONE AGAIN) All U.S. families must receive approval from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) before bringing a child to the U.S. for adoption. USCIS requires families pay an application fee, fingerprinting fee &, in some cases, a renewal or change fee.

Adoption Education Classes $150-$500 (WE DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN). You will be required to complete a number of general adoption trainings using approved online courses..

Dossier Preparation $100-$700
(THIS WILL BE SLIGHTLY REDUCED AS SOME ITEMS CAN BE REUSED, APPROXIMATING $500). The home study & dossier process requires families to obtain official copies of documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates & divorce decrees. Some countries require that these & other documents go through a process of notarization, certification & authentication before being submitted.

Travel expenses $3,000-$15,000
(FOR OUR LAST TRIP, TRAVEL & HOTEL COST US APPROX. $9,900 PLUS EXPENSES IN CHINA, WILL ESTIMATE IT AT $13,000 THIS TIME BUT HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING JUST YET)  Travel expenses vary greatly depending on the number of trips required, the number of people in our travel party, & the time of year that we travel. These expenses include airfare, lodging, meals & ground transportation, and visa’s.

Adoption Finalization $500-$1,500
 (ALTHOUGH OUR CHILD’S ADOPTION WILL BE FINALIZED IN CHINA – BECAUSE BOTH PARENTS TRAVELED – WE STILL MUST FINALIZE IT THE US AFTER BEING HOME FOR 6 MONTHS, WE ARE NOT SURE OF THE EXACT COST BUT WILL ESTIMATE IT IN THE MIDDLE AT $1,000).

Total for Holt International: $26,910

Total for Home Study: $6,150

Total cost for adoption: $33,060 *

Cost to give a child a home: PRICELESS!!!! 

* some costs listed above are still estimates

Thanks for checking in again! Please continue to pray for the orphans around the world and for all of those trying to bring them home!!!