A reader recently made a comment on one of my blogs that I feel compelled to address in depth. Usually special needs adoption through a state agency includes a subsidy. In some states like Michigan and New York, that subsidy is equal to the foster care rate. Other states, such as Florida, Oregon, and Texas have fixed subsidy rates for special needs adoption, which are considerably lower than their foster care rates. There is also a special needs adoption credit currently available on Federal Income Tax in the United States that is a fixed amount, currently over $10,000, regardless of the adoptive parents actual cost.

The comment made was…“I'm also angry at some of the so-called foster parents out there who just get children for the money children deserve much more than that.

To a person who hasn’t lived with a special needs child I suppose this may seem like a money making adventure. To those of us who share our lives all day, everyday with a special needs child, we realize that we couldn’t do it for any amount of money without love and commitment.

It is emotionally draining to advocate for a special needs child to receive all the needed services. Read some of my blog-mate, Julie’s blogs, on IEPs and court proceedings if you doubt this. Spend every spare minute helping your child to learn things that other parents and children take for granted, instead of going to the movies or out to dinner.

One of my best friends told me a few weeks ago that her son finally has his times tables down now that he is 18. Both she and her husband taught them to him every school year, but he always forgot. Another friend is trying to potty train her five year old with Down syndrome, but if that doesn’t work they will hope for bowel conditioning.

Now let’s talk about the actual finances involved. According to “Expenditures On Children By Families (2004), USDA” the minimum it will cost to raise a child to the age of 18 is $134,370. That divides into $622.08 per month or $20.45 per day.

One of my friends just adopted two autistic children and her monthly subsidy is $240.00 per child. In our state, the foster care rate for a child is $14.24 and for a teenager it is $17.59. About four dollars of that amount goes directly to the child for clothing and allowance, the balance is considered room and board. So, it looks to me like as a foster parent I’m in the hole about $10.00 a day, definitely not making money.

My husband and I just finished fostering a teenage girl. We kept her as part of our family for nearly two years, until she had her diploma, turned 18, and returned to her mother. She was in eight foster care placements before coming to our home. Was she difficult? Obviously she was. Did the other foster homes keep her for the money?

We didn’t keep her for the money either. We kept her because we believed in her and we wanted to help her succeed in life.

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