Foreign citizens adopting fewer orphans from Kazakhstan

Foreign citizens are adopting fewer orphans from Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing the country’s Foreign Minister Erzhan Kazykhanov as saying before the Majilis (lower chamber) April 23. “8 000 Kazakhstan’s orphans have been adopted for the 20 years since independence. These are mostly families from West Europe, the USA. Kazakhstan’s diplomatic services monitor these adopted children (…) However, it’s not feasible to thoroughly track each child, say in the USA. There are two consular facilities based in Washington DC and New York. The children are scattered all around the USA. For a counselor to visit all the foster families … no money will be enough”, he said. Kazakhstan’s counselors have all the foster parents gather annually, demanding for reports. “It is gratifying that the number of Kazakhstan’s orphans being taken away to other countries is on the decrease. The number is much lower as compared to what happened back in the 1990ies. We are glad to see more and more well off families in Kazakhstan adopt orphans”, Mr. Kazykhanov said.