Agency wants Congress to extend adoption tax credits

A Christian adoption organization is asking residents from Louisiana and across the country to lobby their elected officials to make sure Congress extends the tax credit for adoption.

The adoption tax credit is due to run out at year’s end. Without it, thousands of families will not be able to afford to adopt, leaving some of the 153 million orphans around the globe without a family. Bills have been introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives that, if approved, would extend the tax credit.

Fifteen years ago, Congress installed the tax credit to help families with the cost of adoption. The organization said that because of that financial assistance, the number of children adopted, especially internationally, has risen. Before the tax credit took effect, an average of about 8,500 adoptions were finalized each year. Since the tax credit, that number has more than doubled to about 17,500 annually.

The Christian agency said that while its officials recognize that other factors have contributed to the rise in adoptions, the tax credit certainly has helped.

Around the world, countries such as Ethiopia, China and Ghana are attempting to put programs in place to find homes for orphans. Organizations are working with leaders of a variety of nations to create family-preservation services that will allow children to grow up in families in their own countries.

Still, even though progress in those areas has been made, U.S. adoption is still a vital piece to the puzzle when it comes to best providing for orphans, according to the agency.

Even though leaders in Washington must make difficult financial decisions that affect spending and taxation programs, the adoption tax credit has proved to be worthy. It has helped childless Americans achieve their dreams of becoming parents, while at the same time, giving a loving home to a child who otherwise might not have much hope of ever finding stability.

Source: The Christian Post, “Saving the Adoption Tax Credit,” Bill Blacquiere, Oct. 25, 2012