Kazakhstan Program - World Partners Adoption

Kazakhstan Program

Holly had this to say about WPA. . .
I do not know if you will remember me. My husband and I were in contact with you back in the fall of 2004 when we were looking to sign on with an agency. Much to our regret, we signed on with another agency (an AMREX Agency). I contacted you again about a year ago in hopes that we could switch agencies. Because of financial reasons we were not able to switch. Our agency would not give us a refund, so we decided to just hang on and see what would come of it. Well, we finally traveled to Uralsk Kazakhstan on Sept 30th (2 weeks after AMREX filed for bankruptcy). We noticed another American couple on our flight from Almaty to Uralsk. They were with your agency, so we were excited to see how their journey would unfold. Needless to say, they had a wonderful trip. They were taken on tours of the city. They had a GREAT apartment. Their rep even made sure they had a meal after the landed in Uralsk! We were extremely impressed with the way they were treated - they were too, once they saw how the other (none WPA) families were treated. The WPA family started bonding with their son the same day we did, they had precourt the same day as us, final court just minutes after us, but they were able to leave for Almaty before us and they flew home almost a WEEK before us. The WPA families were not asked for more money in country - we were - and I mean THOUSANDS of dollars we had to have wired to us! WPA has their act together! We are completely impressed!

Our trip was successful in that we came home with our son. We have been home 3 weeks! We couldn't be happier with him! But our agency experience was a nightmare! Every agency has happy clients and unhappy clients, but we met 5 WPA families in Uralsk and they were all having a smooth adoption trip and had been in the process MUCH shorter lengths than us. We waited 2 years!

All of this to say that we are already planning our next adoption... and you can count of the fact that you will be getting a call from us when we are ready!

Thanks so much,
Holly Trawick

and yet another family had this to say. . .
We wanted to say thanks, a huge thanks to WPA. We have to be honest and say we are even more appreciative after visiting with so many other families adopting in Kazakhstan. Horror stories.................. The US Embassy in Almaty asked us very detailed questions and really wanted to know if we had a good experience, any surprises, any money problems or surprises, etc., and we could honestly and gratefully say no. Not a one.
Thanks again,
Susan

A family recently in Kazakhstan wrote. . .
...I want to tell you that everyone has been wonderful. We loved the WPA incountry staff and they are absolutely the best. The drivers are great also. They practically hold our hand every step of the way. It is amazing how WPA puts this all together. Please tell Jim that everyone in this organization is wonderful & we feel confident we are in very good hands! Got to go for now, but thank you for all your help Traci to get us to this point & hope to talk to you soon!
Cathy & Ralph

Another family had this to pass on. . .
I forgot that I wanted to mention a comment I got at the embassy in Almaty. We brought our daughter home in Dec, actually it was just me by that point and when I was getting everything done at the window at the U.S. Embassy the worker behind the window out of the blue just asked me if I was working with WPA. When I said yes, she told me WPA is the best agency working in Kazakhstan and that I was very lucky. It kind of surprised me as it was unprompted, but I couldn't agree more. I just thought of it and wanted to pass it on.
Troy

Laura had this to say. . .
One thing I did notice was that other people we met using different agencies weren't having the same kind of experience we were having. They seemed to have difficulties with one thing or another. I know there was one family who had been visiting their child for quite a while and then found out that he had not been on the registry long enough.

Dave writes. . .
"Hi Susan, I wanted to check in with you. Everything is all done here in Almaty, just waiting for the Germans to bring us a plane to fly home on. Everything has gone as smooth as silk (pardon my pun). We really knew we were well taken care of when we met two other families here at our hotel. Talk about horror stories. Hats off to WPA for the very professional organization that you all run. We could have muddled through about anything but you guys local and US are the best. Will be in touch. Dave"

Tina had this to say about WPA. . .
"We had an opportunity to meet the Embassy Consular. He was a very nice gentleman. Likewise, there was a women who coordinated with Saule our appointment for the finger prints. She was very nice, came from behind the counter into the waiting area to talk with us. She shared with us that our agency WPA has been awarded the "BEST" agency in all of Kazakhstan 3 years in a row by the Embassy. She said that WPA literally holds the award, therefore they are coming up with another type of award that they can offer other agencies. She said WPA is always very organized and what she liked the most is that there is always a calendar of events. Meaning, we have a schedule of what will happen on what day. Needless to say; this conversation was very well received by Ann and me."

Kazakhstan is a wonderful country to adopt from for many reasons and one that runs very well for WPA Families. Our hearts are dedicated to this beautiful country where our own children were born. WPA is the number one placement agency in Kazakhstan, and we have placed over 2000 children in the last 9 years! Our in-country staff surpasses the rest with their endless dedication to the children. Our lawyer works collaboratively with the Ministry in helping the adoption laws be interpreted and maintained so the adoption process is protected and more children can find homes! With WPA, your hand is held on this side throughout the process, then when you travel all you have to do is show up and our partners do the rest!

Please contact our references by clicking on the link on this page and talk with our families that have been there and experienced the high level of satisfaction this program has to offer.

Click here to see our forever families from Kazakhstan!

The process is typically 18 to 24 months from start to finish. We no longer allow families to choose gender or ethnicity. You can request an age range and nothing more.

The children are a minimum of 6 months old before they can be adopted. More and more the are usually around 9-10 months at the time you bring them home.

Our Kazakhstan partners are a dynamic team of 3 sisters, consisting of a Lawyer, a licensed Neurologist, and an accountant. They work exclusively with WPA and no other agency. They have been helping families to adopt since 1997, completing over 2000 adoptions with a 100% success rate! They are also considered the best facilitators by the US Embassy in Almaty!

WPA is the number one placement agency in Kazakhstan with over 2000 placements!

We work in 7 different cities (Almaty, Petro, Astana, Uralsk, Karaganda, Tchuchinsk, and Kokshetau) and 9 different orphanages in Kazakhstan, giving us an edge when regional issues give other agencies with smaller programs problems.

The Number of adoption placements per year for the prior three calendar years is 136 in 2005, 100 in 2006 and 111 in 2007.
The percentage of those placements that remain intact is 100%
There have been no disruptions or adoptions that have been dissolved in any of these years.
The number of parents that apply for this program based on an average over the last three years is 128.
WPA does not identify children for adoption as it is done by the adoption authority in country. It is estimated that Kaz has some 145,000 orphaned children. With approximately 18% of that number available for adoption. Of that percentage, 4% are under one year, the remaining vary from two to ten years. WPA submits the dossier and the appropriate government authorities in Kazakhstan and the local orphanage personal matches them with a child available for adoption.

Kazakhstan, Kazakh traditional-native-national souvenirs-gifts-crafts, music-books-dolls-rugs

One of the largest republics to come out of the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The northern borders touch Russia and the eastern borders touch China. This beautiful nation is rich with history, mountains, and beautiful people. Kazakhstan is known for its agriculture, mining, and space missions to the Russian space station MIR.

The children we place are as young as 8-9 months old at the time of placement. Older children of all ages are also available. We work in 7 different cities (Almaty, Petro, Astana, Uralsk, Karaganda, Tchuchinsk, and Kokshetau) and 9 different orphanages in Kazakhstan. The Staff in all the Baby Houses are very dedicated to our waiting children and take very good care of them until they find their forever families!

The children of Kazakhstan are born in maternity hospitals and remain there until they are 30 days old, when they are transferred to a baby house. In the baby house, the children receive specialized care from the doctors and nurses. The Baby houses are actually medical facilities that consist of a staff of Doctors, Nurses, and a diverse team of Specialists. These include Neurologists, Orthopedic Specialists, Speech Pathologists, Physical Therapists, and Teachers. The children are evaluated on a daily basis in terms of their medical health and overall development. A common day in the baby house consists of music lessons, massage therapy, physical education, play therapy, and speech therapy.

Kazakhstan is known for it's high standard in child care, and the baby houses are impressive in terms of cleanliness and genuine love for the children. The adult/child ratio in the baby house is 1:6. The children remain with their own age group (12 children in each group) and each group has two caregivers. This stability in their environment facilitates their emotional development and ability to form attachments with their caregivers. Even with this great care, it should be still noted that these children live in an orphanage and families should expect delays in development in the areas of cognitive, speech and language, emotional, social, and gross motor skills.

From start to becoming parents it is a minimum of an 18 to 24 month process. In a few of the cities we work in, referrals are still received including pictures and medical information, however the majority of families will travel "blind" with no information other than we have a child that "hopefully" fits their criteria. You will work closely with the staff at WPA during your journey to become parents. We will guide you in the preparation of your dossier, coach you on what to expect while in country, and "hold your hand" every step of the way! Our adoption coordinators are all dedicated parents who have adopted their own children from Kazakhstan through our program, so they have stood in your shoes and know what you are going through during this emotional process.

We will help you prepare your dossier, guide you through filing your CIS paperwork, provide you with your referral, and guide you through your entire process of adoption and travel to Kazakhstan. Travel to Kazakhstan can no longer be done in one trip as it is too long at 7-8 weeks minimum and not allowed by our partners. You can choose to make two trips or even three is some cities to limit the amount of time you have to be in country. Both parents MUST travel for the first trip which can be 2 to 4 weeks in length. If one or both leaves before court, then they must return as BOTH parents must be present at court. The trip varies by city. Several are travel for three weeks, come home for two weeks, then return for one week to finalize everything. Others are two weeks, home for four weeks, then back for three weeks. Yet another is four weeks, home for two and then back for one. Confused? No worries, we will guide you though what to expect when we get to that point, but before you start, please ask yourselves if this type of travel is something you can do? Realize as well that if you limit yourselves to one particular region that has a more desirable travel plan you will dramatically lengthen your timeline. While you are in Kazakhstan, our facilitators will do EVERYTHING for you to complete your adoption in the most professional manner possible, the level of service you will receive from them is really second to none! Feel free to ask our families about their experience with WPA! Go to the Family Album page to contact as many as you like or download our most recent reference list.