14 February 2010

Show Me the Money!!!

We received a number of responses to our last posting, most of them thanking us for including expenses in our adoption timeline and discussing them briefly. As we decided to adopt, we discovered a number of families' web sites. Their postings and responses to our questions were invaluable. This entry is an attempt to "pay it forward" for those families considering adoption, especially from Ethiopia, by sharing the expenses portion of our journey so far.

Before I start this rather long entry, I'll say up front that I think you need a financial plan before beginning this journey. The expenses are spread throughout the timeline fairly evenly, but some can be big (e.g., $7,700 due with the Dossier submission). I think AWAA's estimates are right on the mark. Plan on that schedule, and you won't be surprised.

Our experience has closely matched AWAA's timeline. Their web page clearly lays out the expenses: http://www.awaa.org/programs/ethiopia/cost.aspx. The current estimate is $22,080 to $32,580 (updated Feb 14, 2010). As I mentioned in my last post, the two biggest reasons for the range are: #1 the variety of expenses in obtaining all of the Home Study and Dossier paperwork, and #2 the airplane tickets - our round-trip ones and the one-way ticket for the child.

The single biggest check goes with the Dossier submission to AWAA. I expect a close second will be the third fee installment to AWAA and the plane tickets. The most significant "nickel-and-dime" series of expenses comes with collecting the variety of required papers during the paperchase for the Home Study and Dossier. All of the background checks, finger printing, and birth certificates add up quickly - especially if you're trying to hurry through all of the paper like we were!

The Program Fee to AWAA is $5,000. We saw their headquarters in McLean, VA, during our Home Study Orientation. The AWAA office occupies half of a floor of a small, unassuming building. We had the Orientation in their conference room, where they meet daily at 9am to pray for challenges of specific families raised by the Family Coordinators. Each Family Coordinator (the person who shepherds each family all of the way through the adoption process) is highly trained and probably handles at least a couple of dozen families at any one time. Those folks work long hours. We received e-mails from our Family Coordinator well past normal working hours.

The International Fee is $7,500. A bulk of this money supports the two AWAA Transition Homes (TH) in ET. This is where orphans are brought from orphanages after referral (AWAA works with only a select few orphanages in ET). They stay in the TH for at least three months to improve their nutrition and undergo a series of close medical examinations. AWAA has stacked the deck with professionals in the THs: a full-time pediatrician, an Educational Director, and a Developmental Psychologist. ......and then there are the caregivers. I think the caregiver-to-child ratio is around 1:5, and that dwarfs the ratios found in the orphanages. Every single family's report of "Gotcha Day" (the day they finally hold their child and take them from the TH) says the nannies develop such close ties with the children that saying good-bye is oftentimes very emotional. Frankly, I'm surprised the International Fee isn't higher for what they do.

I know this post has been long, but I hope it's been helpful or at least a little educational. We got our Dossier to AWAA just before the snow hit the DC area (AGAIN)! With any luck, they can tunnel their way to work this week and get our Dossier to ET by the end of the week.

No comments:

Post a Comment