[kmagnusson]

Hello,

My DH and I are considering adopting from foster care. Our adoption journey has been a winding path with many ups and downs. We started with a Russian adoption agency. Then by accident we were offered to adopt a little boy from local county social services until a grandparent stepped in and the judge gave him custody.

We are thinking of changing agencies and going with a private non-profit agency that does adoptions of waiting children instead of going through the county social services. We live in a very rural area of Minnesota and it is my understanding that it would be very hard for us to foster/adopt or do concurrent planning. That is okay with us since our last time working with the local county social service was not positive.

We are looking at adopting a sibling group with 3 or less children age 8 and under. I have found several groups already on national and state photolists. I am interested in hearing how others have adopted waiting children through a private agency. Is this possible without doing foster/adopt? What was the process? How much time did it take to find a match? What are the pros and cons of adopting waiting children? Any advice would be welcomed.

God Bless,

Kathy