Complete
the request for information
form on this site, send us an
e-mail or give us a call. We will
send you information about our programs,
answer any questions you might have
(now and at any time thereafter)
as well as send you an application
to get started.
What
makes Children At Heart different
from other agencies?
For
one, as Directors, we have (5) wonderful
children who we adopted from Russia
and Ukraine. We adopted them as
infants and older children. We understand
adoption from both the personal
and professional perspectives. This
is a life-long commitment to serve
those in need. Please see "About
us " page for additional
information.
If
you are prompt in completing your
paper work, etc. you can have your
child(ren) home within 8 to 11 months
from the time you initially contact
us. Of course if you wish to take
more time, you can. You help set
the pace of your adoption.
All the children
are currently living in government
run orphanages. Every child is pre-approved
for adoption by the appropriate
government agency. The adoption
is finalized in the child's country
before you leave to come home.
Our agency has
been successful in placing children
ages 5 months to 12 years of age,
however, most children are between 6
and 10 months old. We have also placed a number of
siblings, as well as a number of
children with physical disabilities.
No, our
program in Kazakhstan is such that
you personally interact with
and select your own child(ren)
from the children available in the
orphanage. Your preference for
age, sex, race, etc. is made known
before you travel, but you choose
your child(ren) after spending time
with the children who are available
for adoption.
Presently, our
program requires you to be in
country for 20-25 days and then
return home after having completed
your adoption in country. After
being home for about 3.5 weeks, you
will return to Kazakhstan to
complete the Embassy process with
your child(ren) and return home -
this is about a one week trip.
Presently, escorting of your child
back to the States is permitted -
please ask us about this option.
Our
network of facilitators, drivers
and interpreters will be with you
every step of the way. The only
time you are alone is while on public
air transportation or in your hotel
or place of lodging. All of our
staff live in the communities in
which they work. They are known
by the local adoption officials
as well as the orphanage directors.
We have staff that help you through
the US Embassy paper work and are
also available for tours.
You
will receive all available
medical reports on your child and
will be given opportunities to ask
questions to find more information
with the help of your pediatrician
or experts in the medical field.
Can
we contact others who have adopted
through Children At Heart?
Absolutely. We
encourage you to do just that. We
will give you names and phone numbers,
e-mail addresses, etc. of families
in your area as well as families
with similar pre and post adoption
circumstances. If no one is available
in your area, we will give you contact
information for families elsewhere
in the country.
What
expenses are involved in an international
adoption?
Expenses
in the US: Passports, Visas, Home
Study and post-adoption visits. Citizenship
and Immigration form I-600A, FBI
fingerprints, securing all the necessary
papers and signatures, translation
of all the documents, round-trip
international airfare (includes
in-country flights to adoption city),
agency fee*
Note:
Our Agency expenses include
such things as rent, utilities,
telephone, postage, printing, supplies,
office equipment, insurance, advertising,
document translations (here and
abroad), website and e-mail maintenance,
staff salaries, foreign facilitator
fees, video and pictures of children,
etc. Our fees must cover all operation
expenses and provide sufficient
reserves to cover the time without
placements. We must also budget
for travel to foreign countries
to establish new programs or to
work with the foreign adoption officials
as countries make changes to existing
programs and money is used to help
the children who are not able to
be adopted.
What
if I wish to adopt now but do not
have the necessary resources?
We have put together
a listing of "Possible Ways
to Finance An International Adoption"
which we would be glad to share
with you. We can also direct you
to a listing of employers who offer
some type of adoption assistance.