Is Hiring an Adoption Consultant Worth It?

It's not hard for people to see the benefits of hiring an adoption consultant with Christian Adoption Consultants. Having an adoption professional walk with you and help you navigate your adoption? Yes! But adding the extra cost of having a consultant to an already costly venture could seem unnecessary, even unwise when you look at your budget. How can you justify additional funds that you have painstakingly saved?

It's a fair question. And one I hear often when families are deciding whether they can afford to hire an adoption consultant. So I thought today I would walk through what I share with families who ask if hiring a consultant is really worth it.

An adoption consultant saves you time

Adoption is complex. Anyone who has weighed the idea for awhile, spent any amount of time googling adoption agencies, or started the task of taking the first step knows that there's a lot to navigate in an adoption. What kind of adoption is right for our family? How do we find an ethical attorney that specializes in adoption? What about an agency that really cares about expectant and birth families and will care for them long after the adoption is final? What should we think about when it comes to adopting outside of our race? What is open adoption and are there any benefits?

These questions are just a few of the dozens, hundreds even, you will have during your adoption process. And the good news is you don't have to go it alone. An adoption consultant can provide a personalized road map for your family and is there every step of the way to answer your questions, direct your process, and offer resources and education.

An adoption consultant saves you money

It's no secret that adoption is expensive. Ensuring you have the right professionals caring for the expectant/birth parents, the adoptive parents, and the child all entails legitimate costs. (For more information, see this post on The Cost of Adoption.) While some agencies are able to lower their costs through donors or funders, most agencies and attorneys doing more than a handful of adoptions a year apply the full costs of these services to the adoptive family.

So how does a typical family afford the costs of adoption? There are actually a lot of resources out there to help! An adoption consultant can help with creative financing for your adoption. There are grants and low to no interest loans available, the Adoption Tax Credit, and employer benefits you may be able to take advantage of. And there are many other ways to fundraise other than hosting a bake sale or crowdfunding. Having an adoption consultant help you personalize a plan to finance your adoption can make affording adoption much more attainable. An adoption consultant can tell you where to spend your time and efforts in financing that would be the most beneficial and the best fit for your family, friends, and community. Most of the families we work with are able to add on average $10-15,000 to their adoption budget!

An adoption consultant saves you from pitfalls

While there is a lot of great information out there on adoption, there's also a lot that is sub-par and even unethical. Not only does an adoption consultant guide you toward excellent resources and professionals, but also away from agencies, attorneys, and information that is not. After years of adoption experience, an adoption consultant can help identify important red flags and warning signs and offers protection against adoption fraud.

This can not only save an adoptive family time and energy, but also finances and heartbreak. Avoiding situations that are especially risky and ensuring you are working with ethical adoption professionals who offer real care and counseling to birth and expectant families is imperative in domestic infant adoption. So not only are families often able to increase their budget with the help of a consultant, but they can also save thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) avoiding certain agencies or situations. 

I firmly believe that every hopeful adoptive family has to find the best fit and the best route for them. But is hiring an adoption consultant worth it in the end? Many adoptive families have shared that they couldn't afford not to.

Interested in finding out more about hiring an adoption consultant and information on our consulting packages? Email me at susan@christianadoptionconsultants.com and I can send you an info packet!