It seems that one of the questions I hear the very most from people contemplating adoption is, "What does it cost?" Upon hearing what an average adoption costs, many are immediately either highly discouraged, highly disgusted or both.

Coming up with the money to pay for an adoption is an adventure for many adoptive parents. I would say that the majority of adoptive parents do not have a neat pile of cash in their savings account that will cover the entire adoption cost before they start off.

For us, paying for adoptions has always involved a combination of saving, borrowing, fundraising, prayer and creativity, and I know that it is the same for many other adoptive families.

I have written a lot on different adoption loans, grants and fundraising ideas as resources for transracial adoptive parents and you can see all of those posts here.

Today I have a resource to add to the list, and it is a new loan program for adoptive families through Chase Home Equity Bank and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This program is called "Chase New Additions".

It looks like the loan works as a home equity line of credit, and adoptive parents who are in the adoption process can get a lower six-month introductory rate on their home equity line of credit.

Chase gives parents a credit card to use to access their line of credit, which can be used anywhere in the world, which would come in very handy if you are traveling for your adoption.

The home equity line of credit through Chase New Additions can be used to pay for agency fees, legal fees, medical expenses and/or travel expenses related with your adoption.

If you are interested in this, you can call for more information or to apply for a Chase New Additions Home Equity Line of Credit online here or you can call 1-866-345-7687.


I know that borrowing money is a last resort for a lot of adoptive parents, but I also know that it is a mandatory option for lots of adoptive parents as well, and I hope that this information is helpful to some of you looking for ways to finance your adoption.

*Picture from Liquid Library