Q: Isn't it expensive to adopt children?
A: Though a private adoption can cost $20,000 or more, almost all of the expenses in a public adoption are borne by the state, including court and attorney fees.
Q: How can I afford to raise someone else's child?
A: Parents who adopt children from foster care are eligible for programs designed to ease the financial burden.
Healthcare coverage up to 21st b-day—policy link below:
Missouri provides foster children a college tuition waiver available up to $5,000 And parents may receive financial assistance from the state, depending on the severity of their child's needs.
Q: Doesn't it take forever to adopt a foster child?
A: No. The entire adoption process -- including orientation, training, background-screening, home visits and the legal formalities -- can be completed in about nine months.
Q: What if my adopted child's birth parents change their minds? Can I lose a child I've come to love because the adoption falls apart?
A: No. In the state child welfare system, children do not become eligible for adoption until the rights of their birth parents to raise them have been permanently terminated by a judge.
Q: Aren't many of these abused or neglected children hardened, difficult and unruly?
A: Many of the children available for adoption through the state child welfare system have endured very serious trauma in their young lives. Nearly half of all foster children have special needs, meaning they are either developmentally delayed, physically disabled or suffer mental or emotional disabilities.
But these are often the children who have the greatest need for a loving, stable and nurturing home. That's why the adoption process focuses so heavily on building trust among prospective parents and the children they wish to adopt -- and in ensuring expectations are realistic for everyone involved.
Through the state, all adoptive parents receive training on the dynamics of abuse and neglect, and they have the opportunity to meet with other adoptive parents to learn what they may experience.