What agency to go through?

Is anyone in STL county, going through a private agency, AND able to get foster kids that are younger? My reason for the question is this: We have tried 4, yes 4, different times to foster/adopt. The first time the case worker was horrendous and dh decided to back out, the other 3 times we were told "The ONLY population STL county has is X (insert the age 1 year younger than my ds each time) or older, AND AA. They would NOT even send out an application to us because we were not willing to take a child that is ONLY 1 year younger than him or older. They told me repeatedly that was their ONLY population. When I asked if it was county, state, or countrywide population they kept saying "Our population is X and older, and AA. NEVER answering the question. I was also told they will only place STL kids, which I know is not abiding by the Interstate compact. SO, basically, last Xmas when I called Catholic Family Services, I was told the ONLY way I could foster/adopt a younger child would be to move out of STL county. Oh, I also forgot to mention that 3 years ago (before starting an IA adoption) I contacted St. Chas county. WE were looking at moving out there, was okayed to apply but then the app was sent back saying we didn't live there and we'd have to go through STL county. This is absolutely ridiculous. I am a kgn teacher and every year there are foster kids (NOT in a family placement) that are in our classes. What's up w/ that? They're not 13 yet (a year younger than ds) and they're not all AA (which is what DFS told us was the population. Just for the record....race is not a deciding factor for us...just stating what we were told. So, what do we do, where do we go? Any thoughts? Nancy

The problem with waiting for 6 months is that I can't even get an application! They have told me there is no way I can even get an application mailed to me FROM DFS unless I state I will accept a child 1 year younger than my ds. We are not willing to do that as a family. There has to be more of an age gap. We were also told this through Catholic Family Services. So, basically, if we want to go through the state we have to move out of St. Louis County. Sure, that'll happen in today's market.....NOT! I just get so frustrated that in other counties they can find enough placements for these kids so they have to stay in the unhealthy environment. However, in STL county, there are families willing to receive a placement but can't even get an application. That's just wrong!!! I have spoken to 4 different Missouri counties that have said STL county is the most difficult county to work with....I totally believe it! I'm just trying to think of anything else we can do. I've been told that we can't use another county since we live in STL. So....I don't know.Nancy