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The Price of Parenthood
Financing Adoption
By Laura Christianson
magazine's 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers (October 2004) provide adoption benefits. MBNA America Bank, for example, offers up to $20,000 in aid to employees adopting a non-family member and paid leave for the adoption of a child, grandchild or great-grandchild.
The primary workplace benefit offered to adoptive families is the Federal Adoption Tax Credit, which credits up to $10,160 for adoption expenses. The amount of the credit is gradually reduced as family income rises above $152,390. Other workplace incentives include unpaid parental leave and military subsidies (see sidebar for details).
Those in need of funds to complete an adoption may want to consider an adoption grant. "We most often award grants to people who have already put a great deal of effort into raising funds but need additional help making the adoption happen," says Karen Higgins, executive director of the Gift of Adoption Fund in Port Washington, Wis. Since it was founded in 1996, the foundation has distributed over $575,000 in cash grants, including 36 grants totaling $117,800 so far this year. The fund awards about five grants per month, averaging $3,500 each.
Higgins recommends that families pursue other options for funding adoption before applying for a grant. Because the foundation is inundated with grant applications, funding often doesn't become available until a family applies for the second or third time. "We look at the reasons why they're asking for financial assistance," Higgins says. "Perhaps they've invested a lot into infertility treatment. Perhaps there are health issues in the family. Or perhaps they're attempting to adopt one child, and they learn there's a sibling. They decide to adopt both children, but haven't budgeted for it."
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