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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Cost of Adoption at All-Time High: Help for NC Families

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Monday, August 2, 2010   

NEWBERN, N.C. - With no federal standards for adoption, families are often at the mercy of adoption agencies and attorneys to navigate the confusing process. This year, international adoptions have become more costly, with countries like Russia and Haiti requiring adoptive parents to make multiple trips before they can bring their child home.

When Becky Fawcett adopted her son, she says she was stunned by the cost.

"There's a big difference between not having the money to raise a child and not having the $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 sitting in a savings account to adopt a child."

The realization prompted Becky and her husband to start HelpUsAdopt.org, a nonprofit group based in New York City that offers grants to families and individuals around the country who want to adopt. The application process is open to married couples, gay and lesbian couples, and to single parents, too, Fawcett says. Since 2007, the organization has awarded grants to families for 35 adopted children.

In Newbern, Kelly Scherrer and her husband received a grant late last year and adopted their son. The couple chose adoption after their first child was born with a genetic disorder and died nine days later.

"It was a great encouragement to us, that this agency was willing to help us, help us out. We'd applied for a few different grants and had been turned down for lack of funds, and we'd just kind of given up hope."

Earlier this year, the government extended the adoption tax credit until December of 2011. Adoption advocates would like to see that tax credit made a permanent part of the tax code.

Information on how to apply for a grant is available at www.HelpUsAdopt.org.




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