The Financial Side of Adoption

The Cost of Adopting a Child
The Financial Side of Adoption
By Debra L. Karplus

Read any of the statistics that are frequently published in popular financial and news publications and you’ll quickly infer that the most obvious way to stretch the dollar is to not have children. Data shows that it costs several hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise and educate just one child. For most families, the expenses don’t end there; remember to add in those cute little grandchildren that you want to dote on. On and on it goes.

But this is where quantity of life and quality of life collide, as most people desire to have children. Simply stated, life seems fuller and richer and more satisfying for those who choose to parent, even during challenging times, which occur in virtually all families. Indeed, raising children isn’t cheap, but for most couples, being childless leaves a void.

Life is not always fair and for some couples, having a child doesn’t always happen when they are ready. Ironically, for some people, pregnancy comes easily, often too easily. Consequently, there are a huge number of babies and young children who need the benefit of being wanted and raised by a loving and caring family. Adopting a child is the perfect way to become a family when nature doesn’t cooperate with you.

Using the foster care system is the least expensive way to adopt a child.

A great way to determine if raising a child, who is not biologically yours, is what you want and can manage, then try foster parenting first. This is regulated and managed at the state level. Some of the children who are part of this system are minority children, children in need of special education at school or other services because of some physical or mental disability, older children, or children who have been separated from their biological siblings. Many of these children have been removed from their families of origin because they were victims of neglect or abuse.

The Department of Children and Family Services or similar state agency will screen you first and do a home study before a child under their guardianship is allowed to live in your home, even if for a short stay. The agency typically provides training and support and mentoring to foster families. Many adoptions begin as a result of favorable foster child placements. These children need to be raised in a loving safe and secure home like yours.

Private adoption agencies provide more choices but are costlier.

Those who choose to adopt a child using a private adoption agency will typically have more choices. If you desire a younger child or an infant, then paying for a private adoption versus using a state agency may be your best choice. Additionally, you have the option of selecting a child of a specific ethnicity or religion. Open adoption, knowing the identity of the birth parents, is important to some adopting families. Many private adoption agencies offer this service, also.
A private adoption agency is a business not unlike your doctor’s office or child care center. Therefore it has expenses such as overhead, advertising, legal fees and other costs not unlike other enterprises. To remain profitable, it must pass the costs along to the consumer, namely you. Expect to pay between five thousand and forty thousand dollars if you adopt a child using a private adoption agency.

International adoption may be easier than you think.

Integrating a child of a very different cultural background has its obvious advantages and disadvantages. You don’t have to be a high profile celebrity like Angelina Jolie or Madonna to expand your family by going abroad. Often the children are healthy, but are simply unwanted. International or inter-country adoptions have gained popularity in the past couple decades. Many Americans adopt from China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Korea, and Russia, the Ukraine or other courtiers for numerous reasons. The adoption process becomes final in the country of origin and places such as China have created an adoption system that is relatively simple.

Each country handles adoption very differently. But, expect to pay at least seven thousand dollars and as much as thirty thousand dollars for an international adoption. Many of the expenses unique to these adoptions are related to travel and visa costs. Like domestic adoptions you will still have some legal and other adoption-related expenses.

Families are families because of their offspring, whether biological or adopted. If you plan to adopt a child, explore the different methods for doing so. Talk to other families who have adopted and decide which option best suits your family.

Household Pests

What’s Eating your House?
Detecting and Deterring Destructive Household Pests
By Debra L. Karplus

You’ve been away on vacation and are headed home. You drive onto your street only to find that your house is gone. Wake up; it’s just a bad dream. But allowing household pests to nibble away at your home is a slower route to a disappearing house.

It’s more likely that something like this might happen. You’re painting the wooden siding on your garage and, paintbrush in hand; you discover a soft section in the wood. Upon closer scrutiny, you notice that the wood is very thin. As you peel some of it back you find hollow tunnels. Looks like you may have a termite problem, or possibly carpenter ants, which resemble large ants but can do serious damage outside and inside your home.

Or maybe you’re reading the newspaper and enjoying your morning cup of coffee, sitting out on the backyard deck and out of the corner of your eye; you spot a tidy little pile of sawdust on the porch floor. It takes a moment to register in your mind. “Hmmm”, you ponder, “no one has been drilling or sawing anywhere near my deck, where did all this sawdust come from?” Carpenter bees may be making a home in the underside of your porch railings where you can’t immediately detect any damage.

Pets are fine, pests are not.

While dogs and cats make wonderful, loving pets, destructive household insects are nothing but trouble, so get rid of them, quickly. If you see evidence of an insect problem, never ignore it. Carpenter bees resemble other types of large flying insects, and from afar, it’s difficult to identify which type of bee they are. These bees won’t sting you. They’re far more interested in your house than they are in you! If you see bees regularly flying around the wooden soffits near your gutters or by the railings, especially the underside, of your porch or deck, it’s best to check it out. They’re especially active in the spring.

Carpenter bees drill holes overnight with the precision of a power drill in the hands of an expert handyman. They’re attracted to bare wood and untreated deck boards. So the way to deter carpenter bees is obvious; if you already have some holes created by these pests, fill them in with steel wool and then wood putty , then do some touch-up painting on areas of your house that need it so that there’s no bare wood exposed. Use a deck protection or polyurethane finish to keep your deck and railings looking fresh and insect-free. There are sprays specifically for repelling bees and flying insects that can be purchased for less than ten dollars. Periodically, spray areas outside your house that seem to attract these pests. Your probably don’t need the help of an exterminator for carpenter bees.

Termites are tricky to spot.

Since termites don’t do their damage out in the open, pay serious attention to clues that you might have them; you’re not likely to actually see these small white ant-like crawling pests that build narrow tracks or tunnels in your exterior or interior wood, making the wood hollow. These bugs are attracted to moisture and also love picnicking on rotten or dry wood, so store firewood up on racks far away from the house, garage or wooden tool shed on your property. Termites also enjoy snacking on wood in dead trees. One family cut down a small cherry tree in their yard and found the trunk to be hollow and filled with sawdust, and could see the little white critters scurrying away to safety.

If your neighbor’s house has been treated for termites, you’re likely to eventually have a problem with them, as they’ll be looking for a new place to eat. If your house has already been professionally treated for termites, it’s highly likely that the treatment, which is never inexpensive, came with a warranty, possibly a lifetime warranty, and maybe even provide free yearly inspections. If not and you think your home may be vulnerable to potential termite trouble, schedule a yearly inspection.
Though there are potent products that you can purchase at the hardware store or home improvement center to treat for termites, this is a case where spending the extra money and hiring a professional pest control expert is money well spent. They know which methods and chemicals are best for different types of termite infestations, such as a problem outdoors versus indoors.

Insect infestations never go away without intervention, and if left untreated, can virtually destroy your home. Your job is to know what the damage looks like, be able to identify the insect, and take action immediately. Never procrastinate which you suspect you have termites, carpenter ants, or carpenter bees. If ignored, your house becomes a sumptuous buffet for these critters.

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