Helpful Information for Adopting from Kazakhstan

If you are just beginning to learn about adopting a child from Kazakhstan there are a few facts you might want to consider:

• Kazakhstan has both boys and girls, from infant (at least six months old) to young adult available for adoption. There are more boys than girls available, but at this time many agencies still allow perspective adoptive parents (PAPs) to specify whether they would like a boy or a girl, an infant or an older child;



• Kazakhstan is located between Russia, China (and several other countries such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan) and therefore has children available of many ethnicities including Caucasian, Asian and Eurasian. Some adoption agencies working in Kazakhstan allow PAPs to specify the ethnicity of their child, though many do not allow PAPs to specify Caucasian children.
  
  
• As of today's posting date, the wait for adopting a healthy infant from Kazakhstan (from hiring an agency to returning home) ranges from one year to 18 months;



• If you are interested in adopting an older or special needs child, wait times could be less;



• In order to adopt from Kazakhstan you will have to travel to the country. The times spent in-country are extensive compared to many international adoption programs. PAPs have the option of making one 6-8 week trip to Kazakhstan, or two trips consisting of one leg lasting approximately three weeks and a second leg, 15 days later, lasting approximately one or two weeks.
  
  
• There are some regions of Kazakhstan that no longer allow international adoption of their children. As with all international adoption the rules now set in place to regulate adoption from Kazakhstan could change at any time.

Do You Qualify to Adopt from Kazakhstan?

If after reading the above, you are still interested in adopting from Kazakhstan then you will need to see if you qualify. Please note that individual adoption agencies may have stricter requirements for PAPs seeking to adopt from Kazakhstan than are listed below. Requirements to adopt in Kazakhstan include, but are not limited to:

• Kazakhstan allows both single and married people to adopt. There are no age requirements other than that an unmarried prospective adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the child s/he intends to adopt. In practice, however, some unmarried prospective adoptive parents have found it difficult to adopt, as have prospective parents over age 60;



• Prospective adoptive parents who have any type of arrest record, regardless of how minor or how long ago an offense occurred, should consult with an adoption professional before deciding to adopt from Kazakhstan. In several cases adoptive parents have faced lengthy and costly delays in finalizing their adoptions in Kazakhstan courts because of decades-old arrest records. An approved home study citing the arrest does not guarantee a favorable court decision;



• No more than two divorces per adoptive parent;



• Both parents must be U.S. citizens;



• Kazakhstan requires annual post placement reports until the child reaches 18 years of age.

Research, Research, Research!

Researching international adoption is crucial for a variety of reasons. It helps you:

• Decide if you are ready to adopt internationally



• Find the best country/program to meet your adoptive needs



• Find out about the ins and outs of adopting



• Find an ethical, law-abiding adoption agency
  

The following links should help you become better-educated on what you need to know to adopt from Kazakhstan.

+ Government Websites

It's always a good idea to see what the Kazakh and U.S. governments have to say about adoption in Kazakhstan:

• Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan in New York - Adoption Page - There is just one page devoted to adoption from Kazakhstan on their Consulate in New York Website. You will find general adoption information straight from the source!
  


• U.S. Department of State: Kazakhstan Intercountry Adoption - As of today, this Website was last updated in May 2007 and will give you a good overview of many of the aspects of adopting from Kazakhstan.

+ Chat Groups

You should DEFINITELY join chat groups on adopting from Kazakhstan. You can learn tons of information by reading about other people's experiences and by asking questions.

There are several great chat groups on Yahoo Groups. Each group has a screening process that you must go through in order to join. It is generally not difficult to complete the process.

Once you have become a member, be aware that some chat groups allow adoption agency representatives to join and some do not, but even when the agencies are not allowed, they may sneak through the screening process. Use your common sense and know that a glowing review written about a particular agency may be coming from an agency representative who is using a pseudonym.

Also, it is a very good idea to read through the questions that have already been posted to the chat group in order to see what you can learn before you post any new questions. Chances are the questions you want answers to have already been asked many times over.

The main groups on adoption in Kazakhstan are:

• Kazakhstan Adoptions - Kazakhstan Adoptions is community of people that are interested in adopting from Kazakhstan or have already adopted from Kazakhstan.



• Kazakhstan Adoption - (This is a different group than the one listed above). This list is an arena for all interested in the Kazakhstan adoption procedure, families who are currently adopting and those who have adopted from Central Asia. This list is rather informal and encourages discussion of all topics in reference to Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe and adoption from these countries.

There are other adoption-related groups for Kazakhstan, but they deal with particular areas within Kazakhstan from which PAPs are adopting, such as Ust-Kamenogorsk or Astana. These generally have much less traffic than the two groups listed above.

Other helpful groups are:

• Adoption Agency Research - International - Adoption Agency Research Group was formed to help prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) in their research and selection of an international adoption agency. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group.



• International Adoption Agency Feedback - This group was created to inform people researching international adoption agencies, attorneys and home study agencies. This group is open to ANYONE wanting this information including agencies, attorneys and home study agencies.
  

There may be other useful chat groups not listed here. You can do a search on Yahoo Groups or a general Internet search on Google to find more. In particular, some cities and states have groups so that people from the same area can chat and meet up.

+ Adoption in Kazakhstan - The Down and Dirty

After reading through the chat groups for a while, you may discover that international adoption can be risky and fraught with unscrupulous agencies, unforeseen health issues of adopted children and changes in government-adoption policies that can leave PAPs high and dry. Certain people have had very bad experiences in the adoption process and want to share their stories so that others don't have to go through the same ordeals that they did. Other people may not have had bad experiences themselves, but they have created sites that attempt give their readers the insider's edge. I call these types of sites the "down and dirty" sites and they can be very helpful in educating you and enlightening you to the perspective pitfalls associated with international adoption.

It's important to remember that when it comes to other people's opinions posted on the Internet, you might be reading the absolute truth, or the poster's version of the truth, or a downright lie. It's difficult to know for sure, so use your best judgement!

• Dawn and Joe's Story - A blog by a couple who had a bad experience with International Adoption Partners (IAP) of Pennsylvania. Their story, along with other couples who used IAP will be aired on ABC News at 5pm on September 10th (and may continue at the same time on September 11th). This may just be a local airing in the NY/NJ area. I am not sure.

+ Blogs by Families Who Have Adopted from Kazakhstan

Many families who adopt from Kazakhstan keep an adoption blog of their experience. Reading through these blogs is an invaluable way to learn about adopting from Kazakhstan. Some of the blogs listed below are about couples who are waiting to adopt, some about those who already have, and still some about those who have already adopted and are waiting to adopt child #2!
You can find many more adoption blogs by going to a Yahoo Group on Kazakhstan adoption and doing a search for "blog".

• Amy & Steve's Excellent Adventure
• Cook Adventures in Kazakhstan
• Denhams in Kazakhstan
• Pardon Me, Have You Seen My Children?
• Rob and Jen and a Couple of Sons
• The Higins House
• The Van Sant Family Adoption Page
• Welks in Kazakhstan
• Winkur Family Website