Domestic Adoptions

Domestic Adoptions

Domestic Adoptions

The Program w About our Agency (Administrative & Legal Fees)
Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses

The Program

About our Agency

Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses (Domestic)

The Program w About our Agency (Administrative & Legal Fees) Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses

The Program

About our Agency

Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses (Domestic)

The Program w About our Agency (Administrative & Legal Fees)
Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses

Family Creations, Inc. is a Florida-licensed child-placing agency, which, in our domestic program, places primarily newborn infants for adoption with prospective adoptive parents who have completed the requirements of the application for adoption. These include:

Qualifications as prospective adoptive parents under agency guidelines.
Submission of the agency's Application to Adopt and written acknowledgement of receipt of the enclosed Adoption Disclosure required by Florida law.
Submission of an acceptable, current home study report, containing a positive preliminary recommendation for adoptive placement (prepared by our agency or an outside licensed social service professional).
Execution of the agency's Agency-Identified Domestic Adoption Services Contract.

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We are firmly committed to the principle that a strong family circle can be forged from the Triad of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted child, if a foundation of security for all participants is created within a placement model loosely referred to as a "semi-open" adoption. What this means is that a birth mother (and sometimes father) chooses an adoptive family for a child from among a few photo albums, prepared by the prospective adopters, supplemented by a brief non-identifying "profile" of their family. We suggest which albums a particular birth mother should consider based on our knowledge of her preferences and those of the adoptive applicants with whom we are working.

Once the birth mother has made her choice, the placement proposal is made to the prospective adoptive parents by our staff and, if accepted, a "match" is made. The prospective adoptive family then meets briefly (typically one hour) with the birth parent(s) one to three times in our office, under our supervision, to exchange further non-identifying information to "get to know" each other. Though these meetings might be anticipated as awkward and anxiety-laden, they soon become the basis for mutual respect and trust between birth parents and adoptive parents, and benefit the as-yet unborn child by creating a bond among parents that can be passed on to the child in later years. We reach birth mothers who are considering adoption through advertising and referrals from physicians, social workers, attorneys, pregnancy counseling centers, churches, schools, and birth parents we serve. Birth mothers are medically, legally, and socially screened, and receive individual counseling on issues related to their placement plans.

Prospective adoptive parents who have already had a home study performed may submit it for our review and follow up, which includes a confirmation meeting with our social worker. Thereafter, our agency performs all other social services and legal services required to be performed in Florida. For clients residing outside Florida, we will coordinate with their local agencies, and social workers as needed.

Waiting time for a match varies widely depending upon the prospective adoptive parents' preferences as to the child they wish to adopt. Placement of newborns normally occurs directly from the hospital, with finalization of adoption usually occurring three to six months later, after completion of a post-placement supervision period as required by law.

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Administrative & Legal Fees - Following this narrative, you will find a Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses, for our domestic adoption services. As you will see, the “At Contract”, “At Match”, and “At Placement” fees and expenses are estimated, at a minimum, to be $24,500. As also shown in the summary, fees and expenses in an individual case, depending upon the particular circumstances, may be higher. At the time a “match” with a birth mother is offered, a good faith estimate of the total fees and expenses anticipated for that specific case will be provided to the prospective adoptive family.

Of the minimum estimated $24,500 in fees and expenses for a given adoption placement, a portion is used for our agency administrative fee. This is, in essence, what the agency receives from you to cover its overhead for the duration of its two-year contract with you. As shown in the summary, the agency administrative fee is paid incrementally in installments of $2,000. at Contract, $11,250. when a “match” with a birth mother is accepted by the prospective adoptive parents, and the 11,250. when the placement is made after the birth. these fees are deemed earned when paid and are therefore non-refundable.

Prospective adoptive parents may question how agency administrative fees and legal fees paid at the time of contract, before a birth mother is “matched” with the prospective adoptive parents or a placement is made, can be considered earned when paid. We welcome the opportunity to address this question because the answer will serve to increase your understanding of, and, we believe, your confidence in our program.

Prospective Adoptive Parents' Adoption Concerns - Other than the possibility that a baby may not be born healthy, there are two basic concerns that weigh on the minds and hearts of prospective adoptive parents: (1) that they will provide substantial financial support to a woman who has no real intention of placing her child for adoption, or to a birth mother who has an honest change of heart about placing her child; and (2) that the birth father's rights will not be properly addressed, leaving the adoption open to later challenge. It is our awareness of these concerns that drive the timing of the agency administrative fee and legal fee installments.

Funding Pre-Match Services to Birth Mothers: When prospective adoptive parents participate in an adoption plan with a designated birth mother, the earlier in a pregnancy that such a "match" is made, the greater the financial and emotional risk to the couple that the birth mother will ultimately choose not to place the child for adoption.
Though we will often work with birth mothers from early on in their pregnancies, we will not make matches with prospective adoptive parents sooner than the third trimester, except in what we consider to be exceptional cases. This policy reduces both the financial and the emotional risk posed by the unscrupulous woman or irresolute birth parent. However, in addition to the usual elements of office overhead (rent, utilities, advertising, and more), our work with these prospective birth mothers makes intensive time demands on our counseling and legal professionals, increasing our overhead considerably. Our overhead costs must be met, regardless of the number of placements made in any given month. As a not-for-profit social service organization, the timing of our administrative and legal fees is thus critical in supporting our services to the adoption triad.

Birth Fathers' Rights: Another reason we will not quickly match a birth mother with prospective adoptive parents is that we would like to have some time to become satisfied that we are receiving accurate birth father information from the birth mother. If we are given his name and whereabouts, our attorney or case manager will contact him to learn his feelings about the adoption plan, and to offer him counseling before we contact you about a match. If we are given his name, but his whereabouts are unknown, our attorney will begin a search process to contact the birth father to make sure he has no objections. If the birth mother's information about the birth father is even more sketchy, we will take a "wait and see" approach, making every effort to encourage the birth mother to be as forthcoming as possible about the father's identity and location. Often, counseling with the birth mother can enable her to choose to protect her child's future by facing present facts with the birth father before a match with one of our couples is made.
Occasionally, our birth father work will preclude the possibility of an adoptive placement of the child of a birth mother we may have worked with for quite some time. In such a case, there is, again, no opportunity for us to recover the time and expense incurred in producing a "no-placement" result.

In Summary - When you have an approved home study and decide to join our circle of prospective adoptive parents by signing our agency contract, you will pay a non-refundable “At Contract” fee of $2,000. A preview copy of our contract is available upon request. We hope the foregoing clarifies our fee structure for you and gives you confidence in our methods. The Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses, etc., which follows this page, provides further information on the overall financial details which would be reflected in your contract with us. Information regarding home study charges and refunds of escrowed funds (paid “At Match") is also provided.

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*The total placement fee for your child will be $24,500 unless otherwise agreed in writing. The fee is broken down into three payments. Your initial contract fee of $2,000, the second payment of $11,250 is due upon matching you with your birthmother and the final payment is due at the time of placement.

The following is an attempt to explain in general what the fees will be used for.

Counseling fees are billed at $150 per hour.,
Typical range for birth mother living expenses. Estimated living expenses for a given case will be provided when a match is offered to the prospective adoptive parents. If living expenses unexpectedly exceed the estimate, the balance is due at the time of placement.
Estimated medical fees and expenses for a given case, taking into account any available Medicaid or private insurance coverage, and the type of birth expected (vaginal or caesarean), will be provided when a match is offered to the prospective adoptive parents. The child’s medical expenses are typically covered, and under the law of many states, including Florida, these are reimbursable by the adoptive parents’ health insurance carrier. However we reserve the right to withhold placement due to extenuating medical costs.
Fees stated are also exclusive of required court and administrative fees (filing fees for petition of adoption, certified copies of court orders, obtaining original and amended birth certificates. It becomes the financial responsibility of the family to pay all legal fees associated with the finalization. The agency will provide the client with a list of attorney’s who we and other families have used in the past. It is solely the discretion of the adoptive family who they chose for this purpose, as long as the attorney is qualified to complete adoptions in the state of Florida. It has been the experience of the families these fees range from $1,000 to $2,000 Other Fees: The application fee ($240) is payable at the time of application. Home study fees are payable in advance of service as follow: initial home study – $1,500; update of home study more than one year old or otherwise outdated – $750; review and confirmation of current home study prepared outside of our agency – $350.
Refund Policy: All monies, other than Agency Administrative Fees and Legal Fees, will be held in escrow for disbursement when required. In the event of a disruption in the adoption plan, any monies remaining in escrow will be refunded in full within sixty (60) days. No other refunds are available for counseling expenses, living expenses, medical expenses, or other expenses already incurred at the time of disruption. The Agency Administrative Fees and Legal Fees are deemed earned when paid (see “About Our Agency Administrative and Legal Fees”), and are thus non-refundable.

About Us Adoption Services Domestic Adoptions International Adoptions
Clinical Services Our Staff Contact Us Info Request Form Adoption Application

Licensed by the State of Florida as a Child Placing Agency - License#100732

Domestic Adoptions

Family Creations, Inc. is a Florida-licensed child-placing agency, which, in our domestic program, places primarily newborn infants for adoption with prospective adoptive parents who have completed the requirements of the application for adoption. These include:

Qualifications as prospective adoptive parents under agency guidelines.

Submission of the agency's Application to Adopt and written acknowledgement of receipt of the enclosed Adoption Disclosure required by Florida law.

Submission of an acceptable, current home study report, containing a positive preliminary recommendation for adoptive placement (prepared by our agency or an outside licensed social service professional).

Execution of the agency's Agency-Identified Domestic Adoption Services Contract.

Click here for our

The Program w About our Agency (Administrative & Legal Fees)
Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses

The Program

We are firmly committed to the principle that a strong family circle can be forged from the Triad of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted child, if a foundation of security for all participants is created within a placement model loosely referred to as a "semi-open" adoption. What this means is that a birth mother (and sometimes father) chooses an adoptive family for a child from among a few photo albums, prepared by the prospective adopters, supplemented by a brief non-identifying "profile" of their family. We suggest which albums a particular birth mother should consider based on our knowledge of her preferences and those of the adoptive applicants with whom we are working.

Once the birth mother has made her choice, the placement proposal is made to the prospective adoptive parents by our staff and, if accepted, a "match" is made. The prospective adoptive family then meets briefly (typically one hour) with the birth parent(s) one to three times in our office, under our supervision, to exchange further non-identifying information to "get to know" each other. Though these meetings might be anticipated as awkward and anxiety-laden, they soon become the basis for mutual respect and trust between birth parents and adoptive parents, and benefit the as-yet unborn child by creating a bond among parents that can be passed on to the child in later years. We reach birth mothers who are considering adoption through advertising and referrals from physicians, social workers, attorneys, pregnancy counseling centers, churches, schools, and birth parents we serve. Birth mothers are medically, legally, and socially screened, and receive individual counseling on issues related to their placement plans.

Prospective adoptive parents who have already had a home study performed may submit it for our review and follow up, which includes a confirmation meeting with our social worker. Thereafter, our agency performs all other social services and legal services required to be performed in Florida. For clients residing outside Florida, we will coordinate with their local agencies, and social workers as needed.

Waiting time for a match varies widely depending upon the prospective adoptive parents' preferences as to the child they wish to adopt. Placement of newborns normally occurs directly from the hospital, with finalization of adoption usually occurring three to six months later, after completion of a post-placement supervision period as required by law.

TOP

About our Agency

Administrative & Legal Fees - Following this narrative, you will find a Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses, for our domestic adoption services. As you will see, the “At Contract”, “At Match”, and “At Placement” fees and expenses are estimated, at a minimum, to be $24,500. As also shown in the summary, fees and expenses in an individual case, depending upon the particular circumstances, may be higher. At the time a “match” with a birth mother is offered, a good faith estimate of the total fees and expenses anticipated for that specific case will be provided to the prospective adoptive family.

Of the minimum estimated $24,500 in fees and expenses for a given adoption placement, a portion is used for our agency administrative fee. This is, in essence, what the agency receives from you to cover its overhead for the duration of its two-year contract with you. As shown in the summary, the agency administrative fee is paid incrementally in installments of $2,000. at Contract, $11,250. when a “match” with a birth mother is accepted by the prospective adoptive parents, and the 11,250. when the placement is made after the birth. these fees are deemed earned when paid and are therefore non-refundable.

Prospective adoptive parents may question how agency administrative fees and legal fees paid at the time of contract, before a birth mother is “matched” with the prospective adoptive parents or a placement is made, can be considered earned when paid. We welcome the opportunity to address this question because the answer will serve to increase your understanding of, and, we believe, your confidence in our program.

Prospective Adoptive Parents' Adoption Concerns - Other than the possibility that a baby may not be born healthy, there are two basic concerns that weigh on the minds and hearts of prospective adoptive parents: (1) that they will provide substantial financial support to a woman who has no real intention of placing her child for adoption, or to a birth mother who has an honest change of heart about placing her child; and (2) that the birth father's rights will not be properly addressed, leaving the adoption open to later challenge. It is our awareness of these concerns that drive the timing of the agency administrative fee and legal fee installments.

Funding Pre-Match Services to Birth Mothers: When prospective adoptive parents participate in an adoption plan with a designated birth mother, the earlier in a pregnancy that such a "match" is made, the greater the financial and emotional risk to the couple that the birth mother will ultimately choose not to place the child for adoption.
Though we will often work with birth mothers from early on in their pregnancies, we will not make matches with prospective adoptive parents sooner than the third trimester, except in what we consider to be exceptional cases. This policy reduces both the financial and the emotional risk posed by the unscrupulous woman or irresolute birth parent. However, in addition to the usual elements of office overhead (rent, utilities, advertising, and more), our work with these prospective birth mothers makes intensive time demands on our counseling and legal professionals, increasing our overhead considerably. Our overhead costs must be met, regardless of the number of placements made in any given month. As a not-for-profit social service organization, the timing of our administrative and legal fees is thus critical in supporting our services to the adoption triad.

Birth Fathers' Rights: Another reason we will not quickly match a birth mother with prospective adoptive parents is that we would like to have some time to become satisfied that we are receiving accurate birth father information from the birth mother. If we are given his name and whereabouts, our attorney or case manager will contact him to learn his feelings about the adoption plan, and to offer him counseling before we contact you about a match. If we are given his name, but his whereabouts are unknown, our attorney will begin a search process to contact the birth father to make sure he has no objections. If the birth mother's information about the birth father is even more sketchy, we will take a "wait and see" approach, making every effort to encourage the birth mother to be as forthcoming as possible about the father's identity and location. Often, counseling with the birth mother can enable her to choose to protect her child's future by facing present facts with the birth father before a match with one of our couples is made.
Occasionally, our birth father work will preclude the possibility of an adoptive placement of the child of a birth mother we may have worked with for quite some time. In such a case, there is, again, no opportunity for us to recover the time and expense incurred in producing a "no-placement" result.

In Summary - When you have an approved home study and decide to join our circle of prospective adoptive parents by signing our agency contract, you will pay a non-refundable “At Contract” fee of $2,000. A preview copy of our contract is available upon request. We hope the foregoing clarifies our fee structure for you and gives you confidence in our methods. The Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses, etc., which follows this page, provides further information on the overall financial details which would be reflected in your contract with us. Information regarding home study charges and refunds of escrowed funds (paid “At Match") is also provided.

TOP

Summary of Estimated Fees & Expenses (Domestic)

*The total placement fee for your child will be $24,500 unless otherwise agreed in writing. The fee is broken down into three payments. Your initial contract fee of $2,000, the second payment of $11,250 is due upon matching you with your birthmother and the final payment is due at the time of placement.

The following is an attempt to explain in general what the fees will be used for.

Counseling fees are billed at $150 per hour.,

Typical range for birth mother living expenses. Estimated living expenses for a given case will be provided when a match is offered to the prospective adoptive parents. If living expenses unexpectedly exceed the estimate, the balance is due at the time of placement.

Estimated medical fees and expenses for a given case, taking into account any available Medicaid or private insurance coverage, and the type of birth expected (vaginal or caesarean), will be provided when a match is offered to the prospective adoptive parents. The child’s medical expenses are typically covered, and under the law of many states, including Florida, these are reimbursable by the adoptive parents’ health insurance carrier. However we reserve the right to withhold placement due to extenuating medical costs.

Fees stated are also exclusive of required court and administrative fees (filing fees for petition of adoption, certified copies of court orders, obtaining original and amended birth certificates. It becomes the financial responsibility of the family to pay all legal fees associated with the finalization. The agency will provide the client with a list of attorney’s who we and other families have used in the past. It is solely the discretion of the adoptive family who they chose for this purpose, as long as the attorney is qualified to complete adoptions in the state of Florida. It has been the experience of the families these fees range from $1,000 to $2,000 Other Fees: The application fee ($240) is payable at the time of application. Home study fees are payable in advance of service as follow: initial home study – $1,500; update of home study more than one year old or otherwise outdated – $750; review and confirmation of current home study prepared outside of our agency – $350.

Refund Policy: All monies, other than Agency Administrative Fees and Legal Fees, will be held in escrow for disbursement when required. In the event of a disruption in the adoption plan, any monies remaining in escrow will be refunded in full within sixty (60) days. No other refunds are available for counseling expenses, living expenses, medical expenses, or other expenses already incurred at the time of disruption. The Agency Administrative Fees and Legal Fees are deemed earned when paid (see “About Our Agency Administrative and Legal Fees”), and are thus non-refundable.

About Us Adoption Services Domestic Adoptions International Adoptions
Clinical Services Our Staff Contact Us Info Request Form Adoption Application

Licensed by the State of Florida as a Child Placing Agency - License#100732

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