Adopting a child is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling acts of kindness prospective parents could ever go through. And when it comes to bringing a child from foster care, it can offer great benefits to them. Not only foster care adoption is more cost-effective than other means, but it is also more economically viable. There are many incentives given to foster care kids by the government of the state such as free education, health care facilities and so on. Given below are some additional benefits that come with foster care adoption:
- Affordable: Generally, adoption is a costly process. The average cost of a private adoption is around $30,000. This heavy costs incurred on such adoption processes makes many families drop their idea of family growth. Fortunately, adopting through foster care agencies costs little to no money at all. And this is what makes a huge difference!
- Legally Secure: A child is not available for adoption until his/her parental rights are transferred from birth parents to adoptive parents by the court. Unlike other adoption processes, foster programs are completely legally binding and secure.
- Tax Credit: Tax credits are available for a foster care adoption to help offset fees, legal and court expenses, travel costs, so actual costs are relatively less. Adoptions qualify for a tax credit of over $13,000 which can be used for five years. Also, people who adopt a kid with special needs get $11,900 tax credit, irrespective of what the expenses are.
- Respite Care & Community Support: Respite care is letting foster parents a little ‘break’ and handling the care of foster kids to other foster placement. That means a child adopted through foster care qualifies for respite care by another home in case of emergency. Also, adopted parents receive 24/7 community support from their foster agency through online groups and hotlines. If you are planning to adopt, think no more and call Perpetual Fostering to reap all the benefits of adoption.
- Health insurance: In today’s times, health insurance is one of the crucial things to have. However, due to the rising costs of healthcare, it is very difficult to buy health insurance plans. Fortunately, foster kids get the benefit of state-funded health insurance until they reach age 18.
- Free College Education: Depending on the state, foster kids can be automatically eligible for free education from any state institution and some private universities. This is a huge benefit to adoptive parents as well who are relieved from the burden of huge educational expenses of their child. The free college facility also results in more adopted kids attending college.
- Positive Impact on Adoptive Family: Children from foster care have faced some kind of trauma or stress in their past lives. And they automatically heal when brought in a caring and stable environment. As adoptive parents, you will nurture a foster child as your own. If you already have children, they will automatically befriend the child. This will, in turn, develop qualities of empathy, patience and caring in them.