Monday, December 20, 2021

Foster Care Adoptions: Summary of Pros/Cons

Karen S. Law
Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC
klaw@lawadoption.com | (703) 723 – 4385

Summary of Pros/Cons for Foster Care Adoptions 

·       Eligibility to adopt from foster care:

o   Children who are placed in the foster care system have been removed from their biological parents or previous adoptive parents due to abandonment, abuse, or neglect. They have experienced trauma and they need stable, loving homes. In some cases, the foster care parents will provide that home while services are provided to return the child to their prior parents. In other cases, the Court determines that the child’s best interests are not served by a return to the biological parents. The local social service agency then looks for suitable relatives to adopt the child. If suitable relatives cannot be found, then the existing foster care parents are eligible to adopt. This provides continuity for the child because they have been living with the foster care home while the parental reunification efforts are undertaken. For these reasons, families who choose to adopt from foster care must first feel called to provide foster care homes for children whether the children become available for adoption or not.

 

o   Some parents choose to hire a private agency to help them through this process, which can increase the cost of adoption. These children are still in the custody of a public child welfare agency but are not placed locally because they are older children or have special needs that cannot be met within that locality. Parental rights are already terminated and these children are free for adoption. The children can be placed with families who are home study approved and have applied to adopt through a private agency (AdoptUSKids). These private agencies typically call their programs “waiting child” adoptions.

·       Cost of foster care adoptions:

o   Most adoptions from foster care cost little to no money. Parents who adopt foster care children adopt from a public child welfare agency of a county, state, or territory. In most foster care adoption cases, there are few or no fees because adopting a child from foster care is subsidized by the state. This is called adoption assistance and most children who are adopted through the foster care system do qualify for a state subsidy. Further, the cost of the home study is borne by the local public child welfare agency.

o   “Families who adopt children from foster care are eligible for a federal tax credit. Tax benefits include a tax credit for qualified adoption expenses and an exclusion from income for employer-provided adoption assistance. The tax credit is based on a family’s income and tax situation. While the tax credit is limited to the year in which the adoption is finalized, credit exceeding a family’s tax liability can be carried forward for up to 5 years.” For more information, see Topic No. 607 Adoption Credit and Adoption Assistance Programs | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov) (Children’s Bureau, 2020).

·       Adoption assistance: 

o   Adoption assistance is a program meant to help families financially to make it easier to adopt from foster care, as well as make sure that a child’s special needs are met. Some children in foster care may have conditions such as, physical, or mental health disorders, learning disabilities, or other developmental issues that require ongoing treatment or specialized attention (Children’s Bureau, 2020).

o    Depending on the case, adoption assistance could be one-time payment for legal expenses to finalize the adoption, ongoing monthly payments, or both, in addition to Medicaid or other state medical assistance. (AdoptUSKids)

o   Adoption assistance may last until the child becomes a legal adult. The age of majority is age 18 in most states, but sometimes varies. However, some states provide Federal adoption assistance up to age 21 (Children’s Bureau, 2020).

o   “Each State can determine what factors or conditions a child must have in order to be considered to have special needs for purposes of establishing eligibility for adoption assistance.” (Children’s Bureau, 2020) According to the Children’s Bureau the eligibility criteria include:

§  “The State has determined the child cannot or should not be returned to the parents' home.”

§  “The State has identified a specific factor or condition, or a combination of factors, that make it reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be placed with the adoptive parents without adoption assistance and Medicaid; or the child meets the medical or disability eligibility criteria for Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI).”

§  “The State has made a reasonable but unsuccessful effort to place the child without Federal adoption assistance and Medicaid (unless this is against the child’s best interests). If an adoptive parent informs the State that they are not able to adopt the child without assistance, this prong of the special needs test will be met as to the child's eligibility.”(Children’s Bureau, 2020)

·       Benefits to foster care adoption:

o   The benefit to the child of leaving a traumatic home life for a stable foster care home is potentially life changing. The family learns to love and embrace a child from a different background and life experience. The cost of foster care adoption is low and allows families to adopt who could not afford to adopt through a private agency. Typically, families do not adopt due to infertility but because they have the resources and emotional capacity to adopt a child who needs a stable home.

 

Sources:

About adoption from foster care. AdoptUSKids. Retrieved from https://www.adoptuskids.org/adoption-and-foster-care/overview/adoption-from-foster-care

 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2020). Adoption assistance for children adopted from foster care. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau.

 

Comparing the Costs of Domestic, Intercountry and Foster Care Adoption. American Adoptions. Retrieved from https://www.americanadoptions.com/adopt/the_costs_of_adopting

 


Prepared by Alyssa Howes, Paralegal, and Karen S. Law, Esquire, of Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC © 2021


Disclaimer:


    This web site and the information contained within have been prepared by Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is not intended to create, nor does receipt of it constitute an attorney-client relationship. Viewers should not act upon information found here without seeking legal counsel. All photographs shown on this blog are depictions of clients and are not actual clients of this law firm. Copyright Karen S. Law, 2021.

 

Intercountry Adoptions: Summary of Pros/Cons

Karen S. Law
Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC
klaw@lawadoption.com | (703) 723 – 4385

Summary of Pros/Cons for Intercountry Adoptions

·       Cost

o   Adoptive parents are financially responsible for: adoption agency fees, the cost of adoption professionals including a home study agency and a primary provider agency, travel costs, immigration documentation costs, and any legal fees. Adoption expenses vary depending on the country. According to Family Connections, a U.S. adoption agency, Intercountry adoption can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000 on average (Family Connections Christian Adoptions). This is a low average.

o   According to an older study from American Adoptions, these are the average individual costs of Intercountry Adoption:

§  Agency Fees/Program Application: $14,181

§  Dossier Preparation and Clearance: $1,818

§  In-Country Adoption Expenses: $6,412

§  Major Travel Expenses: $8,210

§  In-Country Travel Expenses: $2,234

§  Child’s Passport, Visa, Medical Exam: $816

§  *Each cost is an average of China, Ethiopia, South Korea, and Ukraine from 2012-2013 (American Adoptions[1]).

·       Laws:

o   Every country has their own adoption laws and process. Eligibility requirements can vary depending on the country, common criteria can include age, marital status, income, and health (Considering Adoption).

§  Age - Most countries have a minimum and maximum age for adoptive parents. Sometimes there will also be minimum or maximum age difference between the parents and the adopted child.

§  Marital Status - Many countries require couples to have been married for a certain amount of time before adopting. Some countries may not allow same-sex or single-parent adoptions.

§  Income - In most countries, adoptive parents are required to show proof of a stable income. Sometimes, though not often, countries will require a specific minimum income.

§  Health - Few countries have specific health requirements for adoptive parents. The countries that do have health requirements may ask for your medical records, mental health history, and other personal documentation as part of the dossier submitted (Considering Adoption).

 

·       Uncertain Climate and Primary Provider Challenges:

o   The adoption rules and regulations of a country could change at any time, and that is why it is important to stay updated. Intercountry Adoption (state.gov) is the best place to find adoption law updates for a specific country because it is compiled by the U.S. Department of State which grants the visas for adopted children. You should also speak with your adoption professionals for the most current and accurate information. (Kuligowski, 2020)

o   COVID-19 caused delays or stoppages of intercountry adoption programs, including the People’s Republic of China. Political unrest or domestic laws which restrict intercountry adoption are not uncommon.

o   Additionally, the difficulty of locating a U.S. based agency to serve as “primary provider,” cannot be discounted. Since the Universal Accreditation Act of 2012, every adoption must now use a “primary provider”, even when the family is adopting a relative. The only exception to this is if the family completes the adoption while the child is under the age of sixteen and then lives overseas with the child for two years, which is not feasible for most families. In that case, there is an alternative pathway, which does not require a “primary provider.” The family may use the Form I-130 process or the N-600K process.

·       Timing:

o   Children adopted from other countries must meet the requirements of their country of origin before they are placed for adoption. In most countries, in addition to meeting local adoption guidelines, they must be offered to a local family before they are eligible for an Intercountry placement. Because of these regulations, there is always a period of several months before the U.S. family is referred for adoption. Intercountry adoptions usually take more time to process than other types of adoption. Most children who are being placed for intercountry adoption in 2021 are five years and up. There are a few exceptions; for example, some countries have programs where children under the age of 8 months are referred for Intercountry placement.

·       Benefits to intercountry adoption:

o   Adopting a child from another country brings so much to the U.S. family in terms of embracing another culture and expanding their awareness and capacity to love another child who is not similar to them. Challenges exist in terms of acclimating to the U.S. language and culture for the child, as well as attaching to the family. There are many resources available to intercountry adoptive families, especially in more metropolitan areas, to assist with these challenges. Typically, families who adopt through this pathway do so out of a desire to give something more, not due to infertility.

o   Some children who are adopted through this process are relatives of the U.S. citizens and have no parental care in their home country. For them, obviously coming to the U.S. to live with a close relative is life changing in terms of parental care and opportunities. We typically see these children adjust more quickly due to family ties, cultural awareness, and the existing relationships. Sadly, the cost of intercountry adoption is a tremendous barrier for many families who would like to adopt an orphaned relative.

Sources:

Comparing the Costs of Domestic, Intercountry and Foster Care Adoption. American Adoptions. Retrieved from https://www.americanadoptions.com/adopt/the_costs_of_adopting

 

Domestic vs. Intercountry Adoption: What’s Right for You? (n.d.). Family Connections Christian Adoptions. Retrieved from https://www.fcadoptions.org/adoption-options/Intercountry-vs-domestic-adoption.php

 

Kuligowski, S. (2020). What Can I Expect in an Intercountry Adoption? Adoption.org. Retrieved from https://adoption.org/can-expect-Intercountry-adoption

 

Top 10 Things Adoptive Parents Should Know About Intercountry Adoption. Considering Adoption. Retrieved from https://consideringadoption.com/Intercountry-adoption/is-Intercountry-adoption-right-for-you/top-10-things-adoptive-parents-should-know-about-Intercountry-adoption/



[1] As of 2021, The People’s Republic of China and Ethiopia are not participating in intercountry adoption. For the first, COVID-19 travel restrictions have placed programs on hold. Ethiopia passed a law restricting intercountry adoption.


Prepared by Alyssa Howes, Paralegal, and Karen S. Law, Esquire, of Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC © 2021

Disclaimer:

    This web site and the information contained within have been prepared by Law Offices of Karen S. Law, PLC for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is not intended to create, nor does receipt of it constitute an attorney-client relationship. Viewers should not act upon information found here without seeking legal counsel. All photographs shown on this blog are depictions of clients and are not actual clients of this law firm. Copyright Karen S. Law, 2021.