[2kellys]

Hi everyone, My husband and I want to adopt a child from Russia and we are at the very confusing stage of choosing an agency. We have narrowed it down to 3; Adoption & Aid International, Holt and Children's Hope Inetrnational. If anyone has used any of these agencies, we would really appreciate your input. If you'd prefer to email us with info, our email is gidge37@adelphia.net. Thank you!

[PR728]

Hi - You say you have narrowed your choices down to 3. I do know of a family using Children's Hope right now - they are in the very early stages and have not made a trip yet. I can't give you much insight on that, but I would like to, however, share my agency experience with you. My husband and I adopted our son (21 mo.) a year ago from Russia. The whole process took 7 months. We are in the process of adopting a second (possibly a third baby) and, hopefully, we will be done with this one in 5-6 months. We used Happy Families International Center, Inc. located in Cold Spring, New York. I cannot sing their praises enough. The Director and her husband actually live in Moscow 10 months out of the year. I cannot stress enough how much political power the Director has with the higher-ups. We witnessed first hand, the Director of Happy Families come to the aid of adoptive families who were using other agencies because of the fact that she is IN Russia. They personally visit the orphanages. If there is a situation, they're only an hour plane ride away - not 9-10 hours. I could go on and on, but I won't. You can check out their website @ www.happyfamilies.org. Best of luck - whichever one you use!!