Families hoping to adopt struggle with financially-troubled agency

The financial plight of a Manitoba adoption agency is leaving a number of Canadian families anxious.

On Saturday, the Canadian Advocate For The Adoption of Children, or CAFAC, held an emergency meeting with the hopes of keeping the agency open for business.

CAFAC arranges adoptions from Ethiopia, but it's seen a severe decrease in its numbers in recent months, resulting in a decrease in revenues and the agency reducing staff from eight to three.

Its financial problems have left Canadian families in the lurch.  Ruth Veurink of Medicine Hat has been working for two years to adopt a 7-year-old boy from Ethiopia.  Veurink tells the Calgary Herald if CAFAC shuts down at the end of February, she will go to Ethiopia herself to complete the adoption process.  

Chestermere resident Evan Dewald, who has two Ethiopian children, understands the angst of parents involved in the adoption process. He tells the Herald, when you're three years into the process, any set backs are like having an emotional miscarriage.