{"id":5390,"date":"2021-10-21T18:59:54","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T14:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gccexchange.com\/blog\/?p=5390"},"modified":"2021-10-21T19:02:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T15:02:28","slug":"what-adoptees-get-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gccexchange.com\/blog\/what-adoptees-get-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"What adoptees get in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United States has\nhad laws in place for many years that encourage foster care for children\nwithout parental care. Read more about how this affects orphanhood issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An example from life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jim and Jill Folstrom returned to Indianapolis, Indiana, last fall with a two-week-old baby adopted from Texas, Eli Lilly & Co. where they had worked for more than five years decided to partially reimburse them. The adoptive parents were written a check for $10,000, covering half of the adoption costs. In addition, the Folstrom family was given a week of fully paid vacation time. After that, Jill was able to go on a four-week unpaid leave of absence, which is usually given to mothers in the United States after giving birth. Now, so-called “adoption credit<\/a>” is available to families who want to adopt a child to encourage the adoption of children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case Study<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a study\nconducted by the consulting firm Hewitt Associates back in 1997, more than a\nquarter of employers felt it was necessary to at least partially reimburse\ntheir employees for the cost of adoption. Among the main reasons employers\ngenerally cite the high cost of adoption compared to regular births. In the\nU.S., the vast majority of companies provide health insurance to their\nemployees, so that the cost of medical care during pregnancy and childbirth is\nreimbursed by insurance companies. According to experts at the National\nAdoption Center, this is not charity. In exchange for financial assistance,\ncompanies get to retain employee loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adoption benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, under U.S.\ntax law, the state partially reimburses adoptive parents for amounts spent on\nadoption. Under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, approved by Congress\non January 2, this benefit is permanent and not subject to repeal. Today,\nincluding federal, city, and state payments, the average tax rate in the U.S.\nis 36%. If adopted, the family receives a $12,970 tax credit for each adopted\nchild and can deduct that amount from the annual return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount can be\nreduced by 30% if the family earns more than $194,500 a year. Tax breaks do not\napply to those whose income exceeds $234,500. In addition, the adoptive family\ncan ask the IRS to deduct expenses directly related to the adoption process. In\nthis case, the costs of preparing the necessary documents, agency and attorney\nfees, travel, and court fees will be deducted from the taxable amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to\nadopting a child who requires medical or psychological care, adoptive parents\ncan deduct more substantial amounts from their tax returns. Most U.S. states\nprovide such families with benefits of up to $25,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are now 401,000\nchildren without parental care in the United States. The vast majority of these\nchildren live in foster care. In 2003, 130,637 children were up for adoption,\nbut in 2011, that number stood at 104,236, according to the U.S. Children’s\nBureau. The average age of orphans is seven years old, 40 percent are white, 28\npercent are black, and 22 percent are of Latin American descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of adoptions has also declined. While in 1971 Americans took in more than 90,000 children, in 2002 the figure was 22,291,000. According to experts from the National Council on Adoption, the statistics have not changed in the past five years, and now Americans are adopting an average of 18,000 children a year. In recent years, the number of children adopted abroad has also steadily declined. While in 2004, Americans brought in nearly 24,000 adopted children from abroad, in 2011 the figure was just 9,319,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n