[sherrymom]

My husband and I are 57 and 55 yrs old. We have one bio son (age 9) and one adopted son (age 7) from Guatemala (we adopted him when he was 5 yrs old). We are looking to adopt again. Since we can not go back to Guatemala we are looking at Kazakhstan. We want to adopt an older boy, age 5 to 7. We have been talking to a number of agencies and most won't take us because of our ages. They say that Kaz is going to be changing their age limits and they don't want to work with an older couple who might not get through the process before things change. Does anyone know of any agency that would take us? Also, what do you know about the changes to Kaz's policies and the upper age limit? Any help would be very much appreciated. We are both in excellent health and take very good care of ourselves. We absolutely love raising our 2 boys and want to have just one more. Thanks.

[1999kazmom]

There has been talk in the Kazakhstan legislature about limiting adoptive parents to age 50, regardless of the age of the child to be adopted. No one knows if it will pass, but numerous agencies are being cautious about who they will accept as clients. Most are not taking PAPs over 48.

[sherrymom]

Thanks so much for your reply. That is what I have been hearing and I kind of figured that many agencies are just being very cautious and won't accept anyone over 50.

[Empty_Nest]

We're about to turn 51. I realize your interest is in another international adoption, but have you considered a waiting US child? We were told here our age is not a problem for waiting kids in the state system. Other advantages are possible subsidies, medical insurance coverage, no cost for the homestudy, post-placement services, etc, etc. Of course those vary depending on where you live and/or where you adopt from. Check out AdoptUsKids - Children In Foster Care Awaiting Adoption for photolistings, or search for '[state] waiting children' if you're interested in a particular state. Your state/county's website will have info on adopting within your area, too.

We did three international adoptions and then took a sibling group of five from another state. While not without its problems, the in-country process was certainly a lot easier, less expensive, and less stressful.

Good luck.