First of all, forgive my spelling and grammar in this post; I'm partially cross-eyed after my marathon of paperwork, delving into everything from my health background to my dogs' licensing. But, that aside, we are excited, because progress is being made, and everything seems much more real as of today.
We have heard from Sarah this week, and despite a small car accident, things are going well for her. She has an appointment with a representative from the agency next week who will present her with all her options. We want this, because they will give Sarah all her options, and all the support she could need moving forward, even after birth. So, good news!
We are excited and moved by all the support we have received in just the past few days. We have mentioned the donation site we are using, and have a received donations there, as well as in person. We have been offered clothing, baby stuff, photo shoots, and all kinds of stuff and we are greatful for everything that you have offered and given.
The next part of this post is a subject that could be taken a couple different ways, so I want to make an effort to establish how I hope it will be taken. Quite a few people have been a bit surprised by the financial side of this, and we were a bit too. We want to give some details, as an effort to be clear, and beyond reproach, and to establish that we are not simply throwing numbers around that we have made up. A friend has asked where monetary donations are going, and how much we are raising, so here's a breakdown as far as that goes.
Today we submitted our Home Study fee of $1250 which covers the the agency's extensive background check which is needed for us to be certified by the state Arizona.
We have an upcoming education fee, of $400, which covers 7 weeks of classes for us in order to be certified. These classes include a lot of education in parenting adopted children, state laws, etc.
There is a retainer of $5000 which covers counseling and legal counsel for Sarah.
We are also looking at having to retain a lawyer outside of the agency to be able to file for temporary custody, as well as for the final placement in about 9 months time. The legal fees are something that we'd like to cover, but we'll say that they add considerably to the need in the long term.
Also, as we've learned, we hold a portion of responsibility for the medical costs associated with the birth. By a portion, I mean we have responsibility for the portion not covered by insurance.
Add into all of this the travel costs and such, since Sarah is not in the Phoenix area, and I hope you are beginning to see why the costs are high. High, but justified.
Not counting the travel expenses, legal fees, and some of the thing we have already taken care of, we are in the ballpark of $10-13 thousand.
Something else that we'd like to point out, is that in this type of adoption, the cost is actually about $15000 less than a regular adoption. In a regular adoption, there would be an additional $3000 to be listed for matching services with a birth mom, as well as a final placement fee of $20,000 which would cover the agency's support of a birth mom for a much longer portion of the pregnancy. Suffice it to say, there is a large difference when you meet the birth mom outside the agency.
We feel confident that God will provide, and we thank those of you who have been a part of that. Once again, our goal in breaking down the fees is just to establish a transparency in this journey, so that you know that your money is not going nowhere, but to very specific costs and areas, one of the most important, we feel, is the care of the birth mom, Sarah.
We want to see Sarah, and her child cared for, and supported. And we want to see God glorified in the outcome of this situation.
The big reiteration due at the end of this blog is that this cost, realistically, is more than worth it. We'd give anything we could to make sure mama and baby are taken care of. Honestly, they're both very precious to us.
- Jesse
No comments:
Post a Comment