Infant Adoption Costs

The first step in becoming a client of Bright Futures is to participate in a two-hour educational consultation.  During the consultation, we will talk with you about why you have decided to build your family through adoption, your specific needs, desires and concerns about adoption, and what type of adoption is right for you.

We will also explain the services offered by Bright Futures, our policies and procedures and how you can participate in networking to locate a pregnant woman/ couple.  In order to make the consultation as productive as possible, Bright Futures requests that all adopting parents complete Bright Futures’ Adoptive Parent Application and Intake Form and submit it to Bright Futures prior to the consultation, together with payment of the consultation fee.

Adoptive parent(s)who choose to continue to work with Bright Futures after the Initial Educational Consultation will determine whether they wish to work only with Bright Futures or also engage the services of another adoption agency or attorney (strongly encouraged) to identify a match.  No matter how you choose to proceed, Bright Futures will provide you with counseling and support as you navigate and assess the risks in your specific adoption situation.  The Case Management Fee covers:

Pre-Adoptive Parent Education Program:

Prior to placement, all pre-adoptive parents are required by Massachusetts regulations to participate in a minimum of ten hours of adoption education as well as an infant care and safety class.  A portion of the pre-adoptive parent education program (approximately 6 hours) is conducted directly by Bright Futures several times each year and provides pre-adoptive parents with education about the adoption process, core issues in adoption (including grief and loss), openness and ongoing contact, roles and responsibilities of members of the adoption triad, talking with children about adoption, child development and parenting in the context of adoption, and opportunities to hear members of the adoption triad share their stories and experiences.

A portion of the required pre-adoptive parent education program (approximately 4 hours) as well as the infant care and safety class will be obtained by you separately at your own expense from a list of recommended programs provided to you by Bright Futures.

Networking, Profile Preparation & Ongoing Support:

Bright Futures will assist you in the process of searching for expectant/birth parents considering making an adoption plan for their child.  As part of the networking process, Bright Futures will assist you in the preparation of a family profile that gives expectant/birth parents a sense of who you are and what you believe.  Bright Futures will share your profile with expectant/birth parents who contact Bright Futures’ directly or whose cases are referred to Bright Futures by another agency and most closely share your needs and expectations about the adoption (including expectations about the racial, cultural or religious identity of the child, ongoing contact, and financial ability/needs).

Bright Futures will also provide you with counseling and support if you choose to collaborate with another agency for the sharing of your profile and identification of a match.  Bright Futures will act as a link between the adopting parents, the expectant/birth parents and any other adoption agency, attorney or other adoption professional that may be involved in a particular situation.  Bright Futures will also be available to answer calls from expectant/birth parents responding to the networking efforts of adopting parents.

Newsletter:

Receipt of Bright Futures’ newsletter containing articles on current adoption issues, letters and articles from birth parents and adoptive parents on their adoption experiences, dates of upcoming adoption conferences and news about Bright Futures, its programs and services.

Adoptive parents who receive placement of a child directly through Bright Futures will pay an agency fee ranging from $22,000 – $30,000 (as determined by the Sliding Scale and the other payment terms set forth below).  The Placement Fee covers:

Expectant/Birth Parent Counseling and Support: Bright Futures provides education, counseling and support to expectant/birth parents throughout the adoption process, including those who choose to make an adoption plan and those who choose to parent.

Case Specific Adoption Planning: This includes facilitating meetings between expectant/birth parents and adoptive parents, supporting the development of a relationship between the expectant/birth parents and adoptive parents, hospital planning, planning for ongoing contact and all paperwork required to formalize the placement of the child.

Case Specific Adoptive Parent Counseling and Support:

Bright Futures provides education, counseling and support to adoptive parents throughout the adoption process.  Each situation is different and requires individual attention based on the specific needs of the parties involved in the adoption.  Counseling and support may include in each case:  counseling adoptive parents about their role in the adoption triad and compassionate methods of communicating with expectant/birth parents and their extended family; providing support in specific situations that arise prior to or after the birth of the child; assisting the adoptive parents in creating an adoption plan that is appropriate for all parties to the adoption and modifying the adoption plan to meet changes in circumstances throughout the adoption process; assisting adoptive parents in arranging the details of the delivery itself and dealing with the legal and emotional issues that may arise; helping adoptive parents assess the risks presented by the particular situation; and counseling adoptive parents about options for ongoing contact with the birth family after the birth and placement of a child.

Advertising and Outreach:  Bright Futures does ongoing outreach and advertising to help educate the community, locally and nationally, about our available adoption services.

Escrow Account Management:  During the adoption process, adoptive parents may be asked to pay certain pregnancy and adoption-related expenses of the expectant/birth parents.  Such payments are made out of an escrow account funded by the adoptive parents at the time of match.  Bright Futures provides adoptive parents with escrow account management services, including monitoring expenses, timely payment of all authorized expenses, and provision of detailed accounting reports.

Administrative Costs: These costs include the overall daily costs of running an agency including staffing, overhead, printing, copying, travel etc.

If permitted by applicable law, adoptive parents may be required to pay certain expenses incurred by the expectant/birth parents prior to and after the birth of the child, including counseling, legal fees (including DNA testing fees), living expenses, medical expenses, transportation to obtain medical, legal, counseling and other adoption related services, and support services.  Expenses incurred by expectant/birth parents vary greatly depending on need.  The laws about which fees adoptive parents are allowed to pay also vary greatly from state to state.  Prior to paying any such expenses, Bright Futures will work with you to determine an adoption budget that is reasonable for you.

The adoption budget will set the upper limit for your adoption and your profile will not be sent to expectant/birth parents whose needs exceed your budget.  All such expenses paid by adoptive parents will be paid out of the escrow account established for them by Bright Futures or another agency with whom the adoptive parents are working for a match.  Expectant/Birth parent expenses for placements through Bright Futures typically range between $3,000 – 5,000, including where applicable the legal fees to terminate the parental rights of the birth parents described below.

If either of your child’s birth parents does not sign a voluntary surrender or consent to adoption or if the birth father has not proven his paternity, Bright Futures will seek to terminate the rights of the non-signing parent (usually the birth father) and any other unknown or unidentified birth father in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 210, Section 3. This is a Probate Court proceeding and typically costs about $1,500 – 3,000 assuming that no father comes forward to contest the matter and claim paternity of the child.

All adopting parents who wish to work with Bright Futures must have a favorable home study completed by Bright Futures or completed by a licensed adoption agency or social worker in the state where the adopting parents reside within the last eighteen months and approved by Bright Futures.

During the home study process, Bright Futures will evaluate your ability to meet the physical, developmental, emotional and educational needs of a child and will write a report stating its conclusions as to the characteristics of children which your home can safely accommodate and which you can best serve.  Your completed home study is valid for eighteen months from the date of completion, although if you are working with an out of state agency, you should update your home study after 12 months.

If you have not accepted placement of a child within eighteen months from the date of your home study, your home study must be updated.  Bright Futures’ home study fee is $2,800.  Bright Futures’ fee to update a home study or approve an out-of-state home study is $750.  The time frame for completion of a home study is typically 2 – 4 months depending on your ability to schedule appointments and return the required supporting documentation.

Prior to placement, all pre-adoptive parents are required by Massachusetts regulations to participate in a minimum of ten hours of adoption education (see description under Case Management above).  Bright Futures’ fee for the education program is $500 per family.

For adoptive parents residing in Massachusetts and seeking to finalize the adoption in Massachusetts, there is a six-month post-placement waiting period (beginning on the date of placement) before you can petition to finalize the adoption in court.  For those who will finalize their adoption in another state, post placement supervision is still required until the date of finalization.

During that time, a social worker from Bright Futures will contact you once a month to assess how the placement is working.  Based on these contacts, Bright Futures will complete regular reports setting forth the developmental milestones of the baby, your and your family’s adjustment to the role of parent and adoptive family, and the social worker’s conclusions about the appropriateness of the placement.  At the end of the six-month period, the post-placement reports are filed with the adoption petition.  The fee for post-placement services is $1,800.

For adoptive parents who reside in Massachusetts or adopt a child born in Massachusetts, Bright Futures will provide those legal services necessary to finalize the adoption, including filing the adoption petition in the Probate and Family Court and attending the finalization hearing.  The fee for legal finalization is $2,000.  Legal finalization is typically completed within three months after the completion of the 6 month post placement period although is dependent on the Probate Court’s calendar.

In the event that interim care services are required for any reason, Bright Futures charges $25 for each night that the child spends in the interim care home, plus related expenses (e.g. diapers, formula etc.).  This cost is paid by the adoptive family (and is included in the average birth parent expense set forth above).

If your child is born in another state and Bright Futures Adoption Center is going to be the receiving agency under the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, there is a fee of $500.

Adoptive parents who have already identified an expectant/birth parent before seeking Bright Futures’ services will be asked to enter into a separate letter agreement specifying the identified adoption agency fee and payment terms for their particular situation.  The Identified Adoption Agency Fee ranges from $5,000 – 10,000 as determined by the Sliding Scale set forth below.  The Identified Adoption Agency Fee includes expectant/birth parent counseling and support, case specific adoption planning, case specific adoptive parent counseling, as well as newsletter, escrow account management and administrative costs as described under the Placement Fee above, as well as obtaining Interstate Compact approval for you to return to your home state with your baby, if applicable.  Other related services, such as Home Study, Birth Parent Expenses, Termination of Parental Rights, Interim Care, Post Placement, Legal Finalization and any other optional services will be on the terms set forth in this Schedule of Fees and Services.

For adoptive parents residing in Massachusetts who have adopted a child internationally, the post placement fee is $350 per home visit required by the country of origin.  The time frame for international post placement is dependent on the requirements of the specific country.

Facilitation of Ongoing Contact with Your Child’s Birth Family                      $500

Building a relationship with your child’s birth family based on trust and mutual respect is an important part of your job as an adoptive parent.  Bright Futures Adoption Center can help you build your relationship by facilitating the exchange of pictures, letters and gifts if you or the birth parents are not comfortable disclosing your/their identifying information at the outset.

The Home Study Fee is due in full on the date that you sign the Adoption Services and Responsibility Agreement and check the box indicating that you wish to have Bright Futures perform your home study assessment.

The Case Management Fee is due in full on the date that you sign the Adoption Services and Responsibility Agreement and check the box indicating that you wish to become part of Bright Futures infant adoption program and receive Case Management Services.

$2,000 of the Placement Fee is due and payable at the time that you accept a match and sign a Pre-Placement Agreement with Bright Futures Adoption Center.  The remainder of the Placement Fee is due at the time of placement, unless otherwise agreed by Bright Futures Adoption Center in writing.

If you worked with Bright Futures to adopt your first child, Bright Futures will discount the applicable Placement Fee by 10%.  This discount will be applied at the time of placement.  Home Study, Case Management, Post Placement Supervision and Legal Finalization fees are not discounted.

The escrow account for payment of birth parent expenses will need to be funded in accordance with your adoption budget and the needs of the expectant/birth parent(s) at the time you are matched with expectant/birth parents and you sign a Pre-Placement Agreement with Bright Futures.

Payment for ICPC, Post Placement and Legal Finalization services shall be due and payable prior to provision of such services by Bright Futures.

Payment for post placement ongoing contact facilitation will be due on the earlier of placement or within ten days of invoice by Bright Futures.

All fees paid to Bright Futures are NONREFUNDABLE, except in the unlikely event that a birth parent chooses not to continue with their adoption plan after placement.  In such a situation, the Placement Fee — less the $2,000 paid at match — will be returned to you in full within 10 business days.

Once adoptive parents decide to work with a particular expectant/birth parent(s), any expenses of the expectant/birth parent(s) that are paid by the adoptive parents are nonrefundable, whether or not the expectant/birth parent(s) chooses to place her/his/their child with the adoptive couple.

 Sliding Fee Scales Based on Gross Income