Kansas Siblings Whose Case Drew National Attention Adopted

Five Kansas siblings whose request to be adopted together drew thousands of inquiries from around the world are officially a family.

The three boys and two girls, ranging in age from 3 to 12, were officially adopted Wednesday by Jeff and Toni Whaley, who live in Douglas County.

A Kansas City Star about the children drew nearly 7 million online readers and thousands of offers to adopt them from as far away as Ireland and New Zealand.

The number of inquiries crashed the state-contracted Adopt Kansas Kids website the day after the story was published.

The Whaleys said they saw a state-produced video about the family before the story was posted. They say they feel fortunate to have applied to adopt the children before the flood of inquiries began.