What Does Private Adoption Actually Cost?

When starting the adoption journey, one of the most common and pressing questions hopeful adoptive parents ask is: What does private adoption actually cost?

The truth is that costs can vary greatly depending on the state you live in, the professionals you work with, and the unique circumstances of each adoption. To give you a clearer picture, I want to share what private adoption cost for our family in Ohio in 2022. Our child’s birth parents were also located in Ohio, and the process was handled entirely within the state. These numbers are not an exact accounting of every dollar spent, but they represent a realistic overview of what many families can expect when pursuing private adoption.

Our Adoption Expenses in Ohio (2022)

Here’s a breakdown of the main steps we followed and their associated costs:

• Consultation with an attorney: $200
  We began with an initial meeting with a reputable adoption attorney to understand the process and determine if private adoption was the right path for us. I always recommend this as an early step to fining out if private adoption is right for you.

• Setting up a Facebook page for matching: FREE
  Social media became a central part of our journey. We created a dedicated Facebook page to share our story and connect with expectant parents. Facebook is ultimately where we matched and we never spent a penny on ads! It took time and consistency to build an audience on our Facebook page for adoption, but it really paid off in the end.

• Home study: $1,500
  This included working with a licensed provider who conducted interviews, background checks (paid for separately), and a review of our home environment.

• Miscellaneous home study expenses: $350
  These costs included things like a well water check, upgraded fire detection, the background checks mentioned above, and other state-required safety measures and miscellaneous expenses.

• Printing profile books: $150
  We created both physical and digital versions of our family profile to share with attorneys, pregnancy centers, and expectant parents. We designed it on our own using Canva, but there are plenty of designers out there that could help you with this if you don't feel equipped. Many even specialize in adoption profiles. The money we spent was to have them printed and distributed. I made a lot of phone calls/sent emails to local attorneys and pregnancy centers to see who would hold a copy to show to expectant parents.

• Attorney fees for our attorney: $7,500
  This covered all legal guidance, paperwork, and court representation for us throughout the process.

• Attorney fees for the birth mother’s attorney: $7,500
  In Ohio, it’s typical for adoptive parents to cover the cost of legal counsel for the birth mother to ensure she has proper representation. The two attorneys on our case were very familiar with working together and helped ensure a smooth process for all of us.

• Birth mother expenses: $3,000
  These funds helped cover reasonable living and medical expenses during the pregnancy, as permitted by Ohio law.

• Home study amendment: $400
  Because we moved before the baby was born, we had to update our home study to reflect the change. This included and additional visit and walk through. We then had to do more miscellaneous upgrades like smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, etcetera.

• Birth parent services (counseling): $500
  Providing support for birth parents is an important and ethical part of the process. Our home study social worker helped us navigate this. I cannot stress enough the importance of having good, ethical, and experienced providers for your journey.

• Home visits (post-placement visits): $1,000
  Ohio requires six months of post-placement supervision by a licensed social worker before finalization. This fee covered those visits and the time our social worker spent writing and submitting reports on our behalf.

• Other Miscellaneous Expenses: $1,000
  There were various other miscellaneous items that added up over the course of our adoption journey. I'm sure I cannot recall each one of them but I know there were things along the way. With adoption, there are a lot of unknowns so it is helpful if you can have a little money set aside for things that pop up.

The Bottom Line

Adding everything together, our total costs for private adoption in Ohio in 2022 were roughly $23,100.

It’s worth noting that your costs may look different depending on your state’s laws, the professionals you work with, the unique circumstances of your adoption, and the fact that costs have likely changed since 2022. However, this breakdown gives a realistic starting point for families considering private, independent adoption.

Final Thoughts

Adoption is both a financial and emotional investment. While the numbers can feel overwhelming at first, many adoptive families find ways to plan and prepare for these expenses through saving, fundraising, or applying for adoption grants. Additionally, federal tax credits have also been a tremendous help for our family.

For us, choosing private adoption (and using tools like Facebook to connect with expectant parents) not only kept costs lower than a traditional agency adoption, but also gave us more ownership over the process.

If you’re considering private adoption and want to better understand the steps involved, I’ve created a free checklist to guide you through the process. It’s a great place to start as you think through what’s ahead.

Have a specific question for someone who's been there? Email me at thehelpfulhap@gmail.com with your questions or just to connect!

It's an exciting time when you start the process of private adoption and I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

Want to learn how we used Facebook to self-match for adoption (and saved money on an agency)? Check out my course Using Facebook to Match for Adoption.