[Xanny]

The head of our agency told me on the phone a few weeks ago that the Ministry of Education was in the process of moving International Adoption to a "smaller agency" but wasn't clear on how (or if) this is affecting the process.

Whenever I ask my agency about Russian politics and how it might affect adoption, they say, "Well, anything in Russia can affect adoption, but don't bother trying to figure it out. You'll just make yourself crazy."

The bottom line is, there doesn't seem to be much of a slowdown in terms of people getting referrals, travel dates, or court dates, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

However, you ALWAYS have to be prepared for this stuff. A year ago, Guatemala looked like the best bet for a quick and relatively easy process. Then they re-organized, and people got stuck in a quagmire. Now everything seems good again. Romania shut down "for a few months" about 5 years ago and hasn't opened again. China had to close down temporarily because of SARS.

My advice is to find an agency you trust and stick with them. The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing that our agency will do what's best for the children no matter what. So if there's any legal way for them to get homes for these babies, they'll do it.

Hope this helps,

Xanny