Lutheran Social Services of the South recently became the first and only certified American agency to provide adoption services in Costa Rica. LSSS is also certified to provide adoption services in Russia. In August they brought 11 Russian orphans to Texas to spend three weeks with host families interested in adopting a Russian child. About 600,000 children are currently living in Russian orphanages. The Russian adoption program placed 39 orphans with families from January through July of this year. During the same period, their domestic adoption program placed 34 children.
As the need for foster parents increases, Lutheran Social Services is urging adults to prayerfully consider fostering. When there are not enough foster parents in the community, children who need a foster home are sent to an unfamiliar town. Certified foster parents and new foster families are needed. LSSS provides the necessary training and its foster care ministry is highly regarded locally and nationally. Lutheran Social Services of the South is certified by the Council on Accreditation.