2 Longtime Adoption Agencies Merge

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Two adoption agencies with deep roots in Minnesota are planning to merge.

Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, which has been operating in the state for 147 years, will merge with Children's Home Society and Family Services, which has been around for 123 years.

Children's Home CEO Maureen Warren says the merger is the result of a steep decline in international adoptions, which generated about 70 percent of the agency's revenue. Lutheran Social Services chief executive Jodi Harpstead says her agency has a strong domestic adoption program, so merging with Children's Home makes sense.

LSS matches about 100 U.S. children with adoptive parents each year.

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