Adoption costs

Anyway you look at it, adoption is expensive.  There are a lot of measures in place to make sure that kids are kept safe and those require people to implement.  Those people can't work for free, so the cost is passed on to the adoptive families.  Below is a breakdown of what we have paid and what we expect to pay over the course of the process.  Our adoption agency is Bethany Christian services. (BCS)

Already paid:

Misc expenses: official copies of birth certificates ($67) and marriage certificate, state specific background checks ($53), fingerprinting($50 each, done twice), passports ($135 each), passport photos, required trainings (Hague), and gas for 3 trips to trainings in St. Louis.

paid $4,740 BCS

paid $4,350 BCS 9-16-13 

Our goal is to complete the dossier and send it to Haiti before March 1, 2014.  See below for a breakdown of upcoming expenses and projected due dates:

Nov/Dec 2013 State Sealing Dossier Docs ? up to $250

Dec 2013 Dossier Translation~$400-610

Jan 2014 Dossier authenticated at US Haiti Consulate $200-300

Jan 2014 USCIS application $720

Jan 2014 FBI Fingerprinting $85 per adult

March 2014 Initial Country Fee:   $12,500 will need to be sent at the same time as the Dossier.  Soon after this point, we should get our referral from the orphanage.

March 2014 Dossier Shipping Fee: $125 

March 2014 Haitian Consulate fee: $25-sent with Dossier

Future fees (over the next year to 18 months)

Referral translation $60 per child

Balance of Country Fee: $6250 (per child)

US VISA $230 per child

Post adoption Report Fee: $1200

Post adoption Report Translation $500 per child

Future Travel to Haiti – Currently, $700 per ticket round trip.  We will be required to make 2 trips. (one to meet the children, one to pick them up)  There are also fees charged by the orphanage for housing and transportation when parents travel.

We are approved for 1-2 children ages 3-11. 

We also hope to receive some grants from groups that help with adoption funding.  If you know of any sources, please let us know. 
We are currently checking into:
LifeSong for Orphans
Show Hope
Kinsman Redeemer