I normally post at Ukraine Adoption Blog and I will continue to do so. I am linked to Ukraine because that is where my first child was born.

But I was given an opportunity to post on my recent research. I have been exploring my adoption options. I have been looking at adoption from the US foster care system, US private adoption and international adoption.

I have been exploring adoption from Haiti, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Russia and Kazakhstan because they all allow single women to adopt. I am an analytical person and I have been exploring statistics as a starting place.

I know that numbers cannot tell me the entire story of Kazakhstan adoption. But they can help me start to understand the patterns and trends.

The United States Office of Immigration Statistics produces a document called the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. It breaks down all international adoptions completed by American families from 1996 to 2006 by gender and age.

However the Kazakhstan adoption statistics start in 1998. Prior years are lumped into "Soviet Union".

From 1998 to 2006, Americans adopted 4,997 children from Kazakhstan.

• 45% were male


• 55% were female

• 38% were under 1 year of age


• 42% were 1 to 4 years of age


• 19% were 5 years or older

I would like to adopt a girl over 5 years of age. But this doesn't seem to be a common scenario based on the above statistics.

I have also been reading the US Embassy in Kazakhstan's page on adoption. This is a really short document in comparison to other US Embassy's web sites. I found a much better description of the adoption process on the New York Kazakhstan Consulate.


Additional Kazakhstan Adoption Information

Videos

Kazakhstan Orphan Video
Bringing Home Katie in 2004
The Journey to Mateo & Natalia - Our Kazakhstan Adoption
Rod and Kym's Big Adventure
The outside tour of Umit Baby Home, Taraz, Kazakhstan
The inside tour of Umit Baby Home, Taraz, Kazakhstan
Umit Baby Home 2004 Christmas Pageant
Gummy Bears in Kazakhstan
Evan at the Baby House in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan - Undiscovered, Untouched, Unforgettable