Bridging the Gap by the Numbers
If I haven’t already convinced you of the need and value of adoption loans, I’m hoping I’ll have better luck through showing you the numbers involved. For fun, and for illustrative purposes, I’ve added some comparable figures.
As promised, Bridging the Gap by the Numbers:
This is the number of American’s who consider adoption – it’s also roughly the population of Germany. But, while 81.5 million American’s consider adoption only about 1.5 million families follow through. So what starts as the population of Germany ends up as the population of Maine.
This is the percentage of families that spend more than a year to complete the adoption process. This long process includes up-front costs for a home-study and back-end costs for birth mother care. The uncertain timeline makes an adoption loan important as it gets families the money they need when they need it.
This is the average monthly income of Minnesota families who adopted a waiting child in 2016 at Minnesota’s two largest adoption agencies. To put this amount into context, $15,416 is enough money to cover the tuition and fees for three semester of college at a Minnesota State College.
The early estimate of the break-even amount of interest needed to cover the funds transfer pricing costs and internal credit union expenses for an adoption loan with a 5 year term. This breakeven interest rate could decrease with a large volume of loans or a shorter loan term.
This represents the number of U.S. children in Foster Care awaiting adoption. This number may feel overwhelming before realizing that it is comparable to the number of hamburgers that McDonalds sells in 24 minutes. Additionally, each year around 20,000 children age out of foster care without finding placement in a forever home. Meaning that in the last five years, the number of children who have aged out of foster care without a home is similar to the entire population of Charleston, South Carolina.
The amount of the 2017 adoption tax credit, which can be carried forward for up to five years, or until that amount is exhausted. This may not seem like a lot until you consider that it is comparable to a year’s rent in a median priced 2-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis.
As the numbers show, the need is great, the number of interested families is vast, and the gap caused by expenses is problematic. The numbers also show us the massive opportunity credit unions have to increase their membership, and give their members to a life changing, pro-family loan to help them build their family. After the adoption process is completed, tax credits, grants, and gifts will make paying back the loans easier to accomplish. Everybody wins.
Geoff Bullock
