Kyrgyzstan, once a major participant of the international adoption field, is now mentioned with nothing but contempt and spurn. The story of the 65 children awaiting their families has made it to the front pages of adoption blogs, became a heated topic of discussion within many chatrooms, reached several written publications, and is now a major concern for the US Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues. There is, however, a great hope that the current situation will be resolved speedily and efficiently, and that these, and many other children, will soon be with their forever families.

Going back to the moment when China released its new adoption regulations and provisions, effectively making their adoption process cumbersome and unreliable at best, Kyrgyzstan, along with other Asian countries, stepped up to fill the void created by China’s decision. A neighboring country, Kyrgyzstan, both geographically and ethnically closer to China than Russia, another major partaker in the field of international adoption, appealed to the american parents with its transparent and straight forward process, reasonable associated fees, and a general reliability of the program. For some time Kyrgyzstan was a viable alternative, and soon became a primary program that parents asked about and considered, many naming Kyrgyzstan as the only option considered. Things, however, rapidly declined at the end of 2008.

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