Adopt from Kyrgyzstan

THIS PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD

Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country located west of China in Eurasia.  Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, but is now an independent republic.  Its capital city is Bishkek.  There are two official languages in Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz and Russian.  Kyrgyzstan’s economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and while economic performance has improved, some difficulties remain.   

Children available for adoption from Kyrgyzstan may be of Kyrgyz or European background.  Children are sometimes available under one year of age.  Referral information on available children is provided by the Kyrgyz government to A Helping Hand.  A Helping Hand provides waiting families with all information provided to us, including all photos and medical information.  However, please be aware that we are given limited information on each child’s background.

Adoptions from Kyrgyzstan take a total of 8 to 12 months to complete.  A Helping Hand partners with one of the best facilitators in Kyrgyzstan to enable us to facilitate adoptions in the shortest time possible.  The first step in the process is the home study assessment, which consists of four face-to-face interviews with a social worker and various accompanying documents.  During the home study process, you will also apply to Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and begin gathering documents for your dossier.  The documents that make up your dossier will be verified through a series of stages which include notarization and certification by the Secretary of State.  After A Helping Hand has helped you complete this process, we will check your dossier for accuracy before it is sent to Kyrgyzstan.  This process will take between 3 and 5 months, depending in large part on the family’s time frame.

In accordance with Kyrgyz law, families must make a short preliminary trip (usually about 2-3 days in length) to verify their selection of a particular child.  The dossier is then submitted to A Helping Hand’s representative in Kyrgyzstan and the court hearing is scheduled.  From that time, the wait until travel is typically 2 months.  The second trip usually takes less than 10 days.  It involves a trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan to obtain an immigrant visa at the U.S. Embassy.  Families may fly home directly from Almaty.

What happens after you bring your child home?

Upon your return to the United States, you will need to immediately register your child’s passport with the Kyrgyzstan Embassy.  Kyrgyzstan requires six post adoption visits with your social worker and subsequent reports every six months up until your child turns 14.  These reports and several pictures will be sent to the orphanage staff and officials to allow them to see your child’s development and adjustment.

Requirements

Prospective adoptive parents must meet the following criteria.  These policies are the requirements of the foreign country; they are not requirements imposed solely by AHH.  If you have any questions regarding any of these requirements, please contact us.

• Single women or married couples may adopt from Kyrgyzstan.
• Adoptive parents may be no older than 45, though this requirement may be relaxed in the case of older children.
• Prospective adoptive parents must be in good health.
• Other considerations such as the number of children in the family are evaluated on a case-by-case basis; acceptance depends on the characteristics of the child sought for adoption (age, health status, etc.).
• The orphanage director, adoption officials, and/or the court may impose other restrictions as they deem necessary/advisable.

Fees and Expences

We ask every family to submit a $250 dollars application fee along with their application. The application fee is waived for AHH returning clients.

A Helping Hand Agency placement fee is $6,000 and the foreign program fee is $16,000 to $17,000 depending on the age of the child a family wishes to adopt. Please know that AHH does not charge any other extra fees like out-of-state homestudy review fee, agency coop fee, consultation fee etc. Other fees and expenses that a family may incur range from $16,000 to $18,000 depending on an individual situation and travel arrangements.

For most current estimated costs, please contact us.

Risks

A Helping Hand will gladly assist you with state, federal, and Kyrgyzstanian legal and social work associated with applications to adopt.  Although problems with dossiers are rare, once the dossier is in the possession of the foreign authorities A Helping Hand cannot guarantee a particular result with respect to that application.  Any sovereign nation exercises its own discretion with respect to adoption applications, can establish new guidelines as to the type of child which is adoptable or even the type of prospective parent that can adopt, can partially close its program, or can even cease participation in international adoptions altogether.

Additionally, medical and/or developmental delays may exist in internationally adoption children, including children adopted from Kyrgyzstan.  Generally speaking, orphanage medical reports will be brief and less sophisticated than medical reports prepared in the United States.  A Helping Hand did not prepare these reports and cannot guarantee their contents.

We suggest that adoptive parents talk to as many others who have completed the adoption process as possible.  We predict that you will find very positive responses to health questions, but do initiate these contacts as they will increase your understanding of the process, including its risks and rewards.

Finally, institutionalized children may have experienced some developmental delays that are almost unavoidable.  These precious children may not have been nurtured as you will nurture them, given the generally understaffed and under-funded status that most orphanages find themselves in.

Some of the problems that can potentially arise and have arisen in children adopted from Kyrgyzstan are:

• scars,
• milk intolerance,
• low or high grade heart murmur,
• defective heart valve that requires surgery,
• fetal alcohol syndrome,
• rickets,
• scabies,
• crossed eyes,
• cleft lip and/or cleft palette,
• hepatitis A, B, or C,
• parasitic infection
• colds and pneumonia,
• attachment delays or problems,
• under stimulation/delayed development,
• undiagnosed congenital problems,
• effects of institutionalization,
• vision and hearing problems, and
• malnutrition.

By proceeding with A Helping Hand, families certify that they have considered the risks mentioned above and, as such, assume all health, developmental, or governmental risks associated with the adoption.

 

A Helping Hand partners with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a licensed child-placing agency, to work in Kyrgyzstan.