Financial Help for Adoptions

For some who want children, adoption is the only option. It can also be extremely expensive. There are ways, however, that adoptive parents can get help with adoption expenses to alleviate some of the stress and expenses that they will surely incur during the process. Finding financial help for adoptions may not be as easy as finding money for a down payment on a home or a vehicle, but there are funds out there if you know where to look.

  1. Banks and Credit Unions

    • Now more than ever, financial institutions are offering low-interest loans specifically for adoption expenses. Not all banks do this, so call around to find the best deals. Credit unions are usually more customer-friendly than banks because they are owned by their customers. More often than not, credit unions have loan policies aimed for special needs such as adoption funds.

    Employee Benefits

    • Another place to look for financial help with adoption is in your employee benefits. More and more corporations are beginning to offer adoption expense funds to alleviate some of the financial burden of adoption. Military families and many federal employees are offered adoption funds too.

    Organizations

    • There are also several organizations that help others with funding adoptions, such as Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Some are in the form of private grants and others are loans, so it is important to research the information you find on each organization to be sure that your needs match their offerings. When they start the adoption process, most families will be assigned a home-study social worker. The family's assigned social worker should have a lot of information on how to find financial help for adoptions. While social workers may not know of all avenues of financial help, they can point the family in the right direction. If you plan to adopt within the United States Public Foster Care System, the fees are often waived, or at least kept to a bare minimum, if the child meets eligibly standards; the child may also be eligible for medical funding.

    Tax Credit

    • The federal government offers an adoption tax credit and now many states are offering tax credits or subsidies (considered special needs) for families that adopt children. These tax credits will not be up-front funds, but can help reimburse adoptive parents at tax time.

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