FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Government Aid

Federal and state tax breaks and reimbursement programs such as the following can help families bring children into loving homes.

Adoption Tax Credit

The Adoption Tax Credit grants adoptive families an income tax break of $10,000 for adoption expenses. This tax break is also for expenses incurred in domestic adoptions of children with special needs.

Adoption Access recommends that adoptive parents and prospective parents seek tax advice from a legal or tax professional. For information from the IRS regarding how your family may be eligible for the tax credit, please review publication 968 on the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p968.pdf.
The Joint Council on International Children's Services also has information on the new tax credit. Contact them at 202-429-0400 or visit their Web-site at www.jcics.org.

Military

Active-duty military families can receive a reimbursement of up to $2,000 for adoption costs. Contact your military branch for more information.

Nonrecurring Adoption Expenses

The federal government allocates funds to individual states for reimbursement of fees paid by adoptive families. States choose whether to accept these funds and can decide which adoptions are eligible for reimbursement. Contact your state's social services or adoption department for more information.

Corporations

More than 200 businesses have started helping employees adopt children by offering benefits from referral help and extended leaves to cash payments that range from $1,000 to $10,000. Here are a few examples:

Companies such as Hallmark, Hewitt, Wendy's and Microsoft reimburse adoptive families for up to $5,000 to cover adoption expenses.

Paid/Unpaid Leave

Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia and Genetech are just a few of the companies offering parental leave from work to care for adopted children.
For more information, contact your employer. You can also view the National Adoption Center's (NAC) list of employers offering adoption benefits. For additional resources, try the NAC Website.

ADOPTION FOUNDATIONS

The National Adoption Foundation (NAF) provides grants of $2,000 or more to assist potential adoptive parents with a portion of their adoption expenses. For more information on requirements or to apply for a grant, visit http://www.nafadopt.org.

 

The JSW Adoption Foundation provides grants of $2,000 or more to assist potential adoptive parents with a portion of their adoption expenses. For more information on requirements or to apply for a grant, visit     www.jsw-adoption.org.

A Child Waits Foundation nonprofit charitable foundation formed in 1998 to reduce the number of children not adopted from International orphanages because prospective parents lack the savings to pay for the cost of adoption. Eligibility to receive a loan is based on financial need and each case is judged individually. Other sources of funds, which should be applied for first, include bank loans, loans from family members, securities, and savings accounts. For more information, contact www.achildwaits.org or call 866-999-2445.