Kyrgyzstan Adoption-Are You Kidding Me? UPDATED

After reading two mind-boggling stories about Kyrgyzstan, I thought it was April Fool’s Day. Instead, Kyrgyzstan must be vying for the most corrupt re-opening of a country to international adoption yet!

Kyrgyzstan has issued an adoptive service permit to a US agency. In November 2011, it was announced that three US agencies would get permits.

The agency that received a permit is Christian World Adoption aka CWA aka the agency featured in the Ethiopian expose Fly Away Children . I’d laugh if this wasn’t so serious. Kyrgyz claims that the permit was given after “rigorous selection.”

“The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan is allowing foreign adoptions to resume, issuing the first permit to a U.S.-based Christian organization.

US Group Granted Kyrgyz Adoption Services Permit  [ABC 1/23/12 by Associated Press]

The 63 in the Kyrgyz 65

But that is not all! There is a new fundraiser for the referred children “in progress”, the so-called Kyrgyz 65, of which 63 children are left. This new article claims that the costs have increased from the original $35,000–the increase is an additional $25,000  due to new “laws.”It is unclear at this time if CWA will be the beneficiary of that money.

“Now they could be derailed because of additional costs imposed on the families after the adoptions were resumed in 2011 said Suzanne Bilyeu, a pediatrician with Wolfson Childrens’ Hospital and Nemours Childrens’ Clinic.

She said she and her husband were among those families trying to adopt from Kyrgyzstan in 2008.

While the adoptions were delayed, the child they were matched with developed severe health problems and died there in an orphanage.

“I promised myself that her needless death would not be for naught and because of that I have continued to be an active advocate for the other waiting children and families,” Bilyeu said.

Last August, she founded a special fund to raise money for the families. She has collected more than $20,000 and her goal is $45,000.

The latest fundraiser is a Valentine’s Day Card Drive called Valentine’s for Orphans. The plan is for people to send the families Valentine’s Day cards that include a $1 donations.”

LifeSong for Orphans is happily collecting the money-I wonder if they ever ask why in the world would costs increase so much? WHO is getting that extra money? Can anyone say with a serious face that this is FOR the children (and not a bribe)?

“In April 2011, the Kyrgyz moratorium on adoptions was lifted and the following October that country’s Parliament approved new laws allowing international adoptions to resume.

At that time, many of those 64 families were within months of bringing home the children they planned to adopt. They had paid the majority of the $35,000 cost of each adoption, but due to the new laws the families may have to pay as much as $25,000 per child more, she said.

“Because of the increased costs, several of the waiting families started voicing concerns that they may not be able to complete their adoptions due to financial restrictions,” she said. “After watching these families fight as hard as they could for these orphans, I found that possibility [of losing them] completely unacceptable, hence my desire to find a way to help.”
Valentine’s fundraiser under way for U.S. families trying to adopt from Kyrgyzstan
[The Florida-Times Union 1/20/12 by  Beth Cravey]

Their website helpkg65.com says “”As of 12/8/11, the Department of State updated the families that everything is still going as planned. The Kyrgyz government should have re-accredited the agencies with in the next month and hopefully, shortly thereafter dossiers will be accepted. ”

Still going “as planned”, eh? And the same agencies are going to be re-accredited?What a joke!

Here is an interesting statistic from the website “”GDP ( 2010) : $860/year” yet they want $60,000 for the adoption of a severely special needs child.

From a 1/12/12 post, one PAP explains how she came to try to adopt a child from Kyrgyzstan:
“My story goes like this. I was searching for children here [U.S.]-nothing was happening. E-mails weren’t getting answered, the Holy Spirit wasn’t speaking to me. Then it happened…I was in prayer service on Sept 30 praying, asking for God’s will in this adoption process-who Lord? Who do you want us to adopt? Guide us, let us be in Your will…..He told me to stop searching, that He had brought all the other children to us (wise words my husband had said to me so many times, but I had to hear from God), and he would bring this one as well. The next day, with great guilt, after hearing from Him, I’m on the internet searching….I felt like an alcoholic sneaking a drink, someone sneaking just one last cigarette after quitting, placing one more bet on the table after swearing off gambling. Oh, the guilt I felt as I’m looking and yet hearing His words ringing in my head over and over again-“I brought the others to you and I will bring this one too”. I looked at two Americans and stopped and decided then and there I would believe Him and let Him bring the child to us. It took a great deal of self-control to let Him do the work.

The next day, I got on my e-mail and there was a personalized note to me-I had never gotten anything this personalized or specific from this agency before …. it was telling me about this boy, about 8 yrs born with a cleft lip/palate. He’s Asian and watched his best friend be adopted 18 mos ago and is sad and wants a family in America. I’m reading this and thinking-wow, when I relent, God acts fast!! I found the boy’s picture and realized I had passed him by oh so many times before-I was going to adopt domestically, not internationally and so though I passed by his picture with guilt in the past, this time I asked for info”
That wasn’t God emailing you, it was direct-to-PAP marketing from an agency!

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Rooting out adoption agencies should be the first step to rooting out corruption when a country re-opens.

Previous posts on Kyrgyzstan can be found here.

Update: From ABC adoption blog at http://abcadoptionhelp.org/2012/02/kyrgyzstan-adoption-update-2/

“From the US Dept of State re status of Kyrgyzstan adoption:

Authorization of Adoption Service Providers:
The Ministry of Social Development has publically announced the authorization of Christian World Adoption which we understand is able to immediately begin facilitating adoptions. We understand that the Ministry is still reviewing the applications of several other U.S. agencies and that a total of three U.S. agencies will be authorized.

Updated Adoption procedures:
We do not have further information to provide at this time regarding updated adoption procedures. However, we understand the Ministry of Social Development will be having a round table for agencies, government officials and other interested parties to discuss the updated adoption procedures. The Embassy plans to participate in this round table and will continue to follow up on this matter.
We understand all previous paperwork that families may have submitted has expired and families will need to resubmit their dossiers to the Ministry of Social Development through their adoption agency.

Eligibility of Children for Intercountry Adoption:
At this time we have not received specific information from the Kyrgyz government regarding the eligibility of individual children for intercountry adoption. However, we understand that eight children have been adopted domestically. We continue to follow up with the Kyrgyz government to get more details on these domestic placements, as permitted under Kyrgyzstan’s law and regulations, and will reach out to individual families directly if we obtain further information.”

Rally says: Why do they need information on domestic adoptions? Do they and their line-up clients really think that these children were reserved for US citizens? I thought that agencies wanted children to get homes as fast as possible-guess that only counts if they are placed to US homes. Disgusting!

Update 2: “In January, the government issued the first adoption service provider permit to U.S.-based Christian World Adoption, according to Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council for Adoption, an adoption advocacy nonprofit in Alexandria, Va. Other providers are expected to be named later. [NCFA is an adoption lobbying organization for the adoption industry, not an advocacy group.]

“That was the best news that has come out of this situation in many years,” he told the Times-Union. “It has been a really frustrating process.”

Johnson said about 50 families remain on the waiting list. Ten of the more than 60 children that were initially matched with U.S. families were adopted within Kyrgyzstan; those U.S. families will be rematched with other children, he said. [How are there 50 waiting families when only ONE agency is accredited? What private information do you have on these 50 children who are SUPPOSED to be offered reunification and domestic placements first?]

Initial reports were that the remaining families would have to restart the process from scratch — and pay the fees all over again. That led some families to worry they might not be able to complete the process because of financial constraints, Bilyeu said.

“I found that possibility completely unacceptable,” she said.

But Johnson said the latest reports show that adoption service providers are being encouraged by the U.S. Department of State to offer those families “substantial discounts,” reduce the number of required trips to Kyrgyzstan and to otherwise expedite the process. [WHY is ANY extra money going to be charged in agency fees? The agencies haven’t been doing anything for years PLUS how are there “providers” already when only ONE agency has been accredited and a total of THREE will be accredited?What is the deal, Chuck?]

“They have asked [the service providers] … to take into acount that these families have already incurred a great deal of expense,” he said. “Their files are pretty far along in the adoption process.”

If no other delays crop up, the adoptions could be finalized in “a couple of months,” Johnson said.”

Fundraising

“Bates said the fund will also be a godsend, with expenses including one roundtrip plane ticket to Kyrgyzstan costing as much as $1,500; immigration paperwork renewals, $800; passport and visa processing, $300; and a child’s medical exam for an entrance visa, $200. Add to those numbers hotel, food and transportation costs in Kyrgyzstan, and medical supplies, diapers, clothing and food donations to the orphange [sic].

“These numbers quickly add up,” she said. “The more money we raise, the more money each family will get. Every little bit will help.”

  The $2,800 + per family that she is trying to raise are fees that EVERY international adoption has. The PAPs STILL haven’t saved up this small amount of money? How are they going to raise the children if they can’t save up $2,800 over 3 years–that is like setting aside $18 per week. Do they think that a child’s expenses will be less than $18 per week?

Of course we ask again: Will they pay back those donors when they get their $13,000 tax credit? We have yet to see ANY PAP do that.

The entire re-opening and Hague regulations are a bad joke. It looks like it will be business as usual once again. Even though agencies aren’t approved, they are acting as if they ARE approved. PAPs who may not have met Hague requirements ASSUME that they will meet them. Agencies expect that they will get to place the same children to the same PAPs. Whatever…

Fleming Island woman won’t let a little girl’s death be in vain for other adoptive families
[The Florida Times Union 2/11/12 by Beth Reese Cravey]

Update 3: “Application acceptance from international adoption organizations is suspended in Kyrgyzstan. It was said by Head of Family and Children Department at Social Development Ministry Ekaterina Horoshman for 24.kg news agency.

According her, in total, 24 applications have been sent to the Department: 11 are from USA, 6 – Spain, 3 – Italy, 1 from each country – Finland, Canada, Netherlands and Sweden. “Currently, only one non-commercial corporation Christian World Adoption (South Carolina, USA) is accredited in the country. Other – a Holland company – is on stage of approval. Totally, only 10 organizations will be accredited or 3 companies from the each country,” she explained.

Recall, from 2005 to 2008 216 Kyrgyz children were adopted. They went to 8 foreign countries. Most of them found home in USA, 30 per cent – Switzerland, Sweden and Germany, 2 children are in South-African Republic. Moratorium on international adoption has been functioning for three years.”

Application acceptance from international adoption organizations suspended in Kyrgyzstan
[24 2/20/12 by Anastasia Bengard]

Update 4: “MP Zhyldyzkan Dzholdosheva suggests imposing moratorium on international adoption in Kyrgyzstan. She has made such proposal at the extraordinary session of the Parliament.

According her, the Parliament made wrong decision in 2011 when lifting international adoption. “We have not to give our children abroad. There are no so many orphan children in the database. The government has to create conditions to protect them. The Parliament has to impose moratorium again,” said Zhyldyzkan Dzholdosheva.

The vice Speaker Bodosh Mamyrova argued that after signing the Hague Convention by Kyrgyzstan an adoptee will be under permanent control of the government. “We have many disabled children who need surgery impossible here but it is possible abroad. It is impossible to impose moratorium again,” she said.”

The last two lines bear repeating: The only defense for international adoption for this country is that the children need surgeries, not that they need American families. Sorry, that is not a defense at all! Medical care is what these children need. How about temporary medical visas, then?

MP suggests imposing moratorium on international adoption in Kyrgyzstan

[24 6/29/12 ]

Update 5: Adoption Options agency is reporting on June 11, 2012 that one agency has been denied due to “wrongdoing” in the approval process and that has caused other agencies delays. See http://www.adoption-options.org/blog/