Picture this common scenario - a mother has just given birth, she’s crying and distraught because she just signed the surrender papers and leaves the hospital without her baby - now down the hall in another room, or out in the parking lot, adopters are there with a social worker or lawyer for the exchange (on this the “placement day”). Adopters hand over thousands of dollars in the form of cash or a cashier’s check to the social worker or the lawyer, (most don’t accept personal checks) in return they are handed a newborn to take home.

Adoptions between family members (or step-parents) will generally require a lawyer (family law), but don’t tend to have many other fees. (Possibly a home study depending on the state’s laws/procedures.)

The terms of independent adoptions can vary. A lawyer is generally needed to represent the interest of the birth parents and another for the interest of the adoptive parents. Compensation (health care, maternity clothing, shelter, food, etc.) can vary from zero to complete cost depending on the particular agreement.

Fostercare adoptions tend to be very inexpensive and, in almost every case I’ve heard of, actually free. You have to go through a process and background screening to become a foster parent and it can be more difficult to get an infant that way (most come from “safe surrender” points though there are sometimes cases of neglect/abuse).

I’m doing an independent adoption across state lines to a married couple I met through my partner. We’re still working on the legal stuff, but they’re going to cover the midwife’s fee if Medicaid doesn’t cover it. It’d be nice if I had some “blow money” but that’s against the law in both states. (We both live on the border of our states, so we’re less than 30 minutes away.)

In foster care adoptions however most, if not all, of the fees are paid for by the State/Province and the adoptive families pay nothing.

In foster care adoptions, most of the expenses are paid by the state.

In agency adoptions, fees can go in the 10’s of 1000’s of dollars. What’s a real tragedy is that there are fees associated with each baby. As horrid as it is, I saw an agency advertise fees for adopting a child who was mixed race was $15,000, and a caucasian baby was $50,000. I detest agencies.

so a lawyer basically sells a baby to a rich couple and keeps all the money.

if someone is giving up the baby because they are poor i think they should be given some money to help them get their lives back on track like for school or transportation to a job or a nicer trailer home to live in.