[MarMema]

And "independent" adopters must meet the same stringent police and background checks, and home study requirements, and submit 3 years of post placement reports, as do people working with agencies

That's not enough. Our agency required us to attend 8 hours of attachment training, and was right there when our 7 yo came home setting fires and spitting on us to refer us to excellent specialists in attachment.

New Hope Child and Family Services, Seattle.

We went on to adopt twice more after this child, btw, who is now 17 and doing wonderfully.

[silverleaf]

That's not enough Maybe not. But it does meet Russian law. I'm only the messenger. Glad you got a good agency. They probably would have worked with Peggy Hilt, too, if she had applied. Can't say if 8 hours of training would have helped her aviod beating her toddler to death. She was a trained child care worker and experienced adoptive parent with an older child. Glad your kid is doing well.