[Momtosons]

I'm really interested in the Kaz program, but am concerned about how long the first trip is! I don't know if my husband would allowed to take that much leave even if we had that many days saved up!

Does the Kaz government make any exceptions?

Has any military person completed this program and could offer some advice??

[julfre1]

I am not a military family, but the Kaz government does require 15 days bonding and both parents at court. However some regions are 3 trips,1 bonding, 2 court and 3 paperwork/embassy/ gotcha trip. You could do a 2 1/2 or so week bonding trip. A short trip for just court-2 days + travel time and then either travel alone or use escort for the 3rd trip. Would that be doable??

[Daisy615]

We're military (Coast Guard) and are pursuing adoption from Kazakhstan. It is a lot of travel, but at least with the CG they authorize 20 days of non-chargeable leave specifically for adoption -- I don't know what branch you're with, but it might be something to look into.

Plus, we've already notified my DH's command of our intentions to adopt since the travel time was one of our concerns. They're not thrilled with letting him go for that long, but since it's for an adoption they are willing to work with us.

[KaronD]

If you look on the Kazakh adoptive families board at the blogs there was a family Sage and Josh that adopted two boys. He was military and managed adopting in Uralsk where they still ( I think) waive the 15 day wait.

[specialk4b]

The Army also gives 20 days of non-chargable leave for an adoption trip (of course, at the commander's discretion). It was nice to not have to worry about burning through all of dh's leave for our adoption trip.

[crissya72]

The military has different kinds of adoption benefits. They also have a DoD program where you will be reimbursed for certain adoption expenses.

[Kazbound08]

The National Defense Authorization Act of FY06 codified in Section 593 of Public Law 109-163 introduced adoption leave for all Service members, and authorizes up to 21 days of non-chargeable leave (I tired to attach the memo, but even a 1-page pdf exceeded the forum's size limit).

We are still in the middle of the process, waiting for our LOI. We have unfortunatley run into long delays which are now bumping us up against my deployment to Iraq. We thought there would be plenty of time between the return from our trip to Kazakhstan and my deployment, but with 4 months of delays we are quickly approaching the point at which we will have to "pull the plug". We're coming up on 16 months in this process.

So...just make sure you don't have anything like a PCS or deployment in your near future. I would make sure your calendar is clear for the next 18 months to 2 years to be safe, and be prepared to be very patient and very flexible.

[Momtosons]

Originally Posted by Kazbound08

The National Defense Authorization Act of FY06 codified in Section 593 of Public Law 109-163 introduced adoption leave for all Service members, and authorizes up to 21 days of non-chargeable leave (I tired to attach the memo, but even a 1-page pdf exceeded the forum's size limit).

We are still in the middle of the process, waiting for our LOI. We have unfortunatley run into long delays which are now bumping us up against my deployment to Iraq. We thought there would be plenty of time between the return from our trip to Kazakhstan and my deployment, but with 4 months of delays we are quickly approaching the point at which we will have to "pull the plug". We're coming up on 16 months in this process.

So...just make sure you don't have anything like a PCS or deployment in your near future. I would make sure your calendar is clear for the next 18 months to 2 years to be safe, and be prepared to be very patient and very flexible.

My husband will deploy next yr sometime... But I was told that he would still be able to complete an adoption even if he was out to sea....I hope that's right....

[Kazbound08]

Who's telling you he can do this while at sea? He needs to be there for some of the trip. Please double-check with your agency! If you are only now getting started in the process and he's deploying next year I think it will be very risky.

I can only tell you what our agency is telling us. We both need to be there for bonding, court, and signing the birth certificate after the two week post-court waiting period. That still ends up being about 5 - 6 weeks depending on the region. The birth certificate thing is supposedly an existing law that wasn't enforced in the past, but is now being enforced - both parents need to be there to sign it. The rest of the process can be completed by one of the parents.

[Momtosons]

Oh what I meant was that the Navy will give him leave while he is out to sea to complete the adoption!!! I know that we both have to be in Russia!