About

Our Mission

Inspired by the compassionate love of Christ, Lutheran Family Services walks with the vulnerable, through services that heal, strengthen, and provide hope.

Our Values

We believe that all people, from the newborn infant to the most elderly person, deserve to be valued in our community. Therefore, Lutheran Family Services is committed to offering love and support to the people it serves, regardless of race, religion, gender, or age, to help equip them to live full and whole lives.

History

Helping the most vulnerable has been LFS’ history. Founded in 1948 to provide adoptive placement for unwanted children, over time programs were added and adapted to meet new and increasing community needs for birth parent counseling and foster care. In the 1960’s, LFS began serving the aging population, and in the 1970’s, programs were added to provide international adoptions and services to refugees. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s LFS began formally responding to natural and human-caused disasters. In 1995 LFS added a unique teen pregnancy prevention program in Fort Collins that is provided to middle and senior high schools in Northern Colorado. Since 2000, LFS has added: an African American Caregiver Support Program; an infant adoption awareness training program for healthcare providers; a Basic Center Program for rural runaway and homeless youth; a Fall Prevention hotline for older adults; foster care services for unaccompanied refugee minors; and, most recently, an employment training center for refugees. In 2005 LFS was accredited to provide basic legal immigration services. LFS is now one of the largest private foster care provider in the state and the largest refugee resettlement agency in the Rocky Mountain region.

With offices located in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Silverthorne, Greeley and Fort Morgan and services provided in Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico, LFS now responds to critical social and emotional needs of more than 16,000 people annually. The issues encountered daily by LFS staff and volunteers include unintended pregnancy, family violence, child abuse and neglect, the impact of natural disasters, older adult isolation and the plight of refugees and documented immigrants. LFS develops and provides programs that not only respond to such issues, but also help to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place. LFS accomplishments over the past fiscal year (FY09-10) include:

  • Refugee resettlement and asylee services to 1,247 individuals
  • Foster care to 338 children through 150 therapeutic and traditional foster homes
  • Family services to 160 individuals in 54 families
  • Therapy services to 41 children in care around the state
  • Care management and other direct services to 277 older adults and caregivers
  • Parent education and support and child abuse prevention to more than 400 individuals
  • Adoption services for 54 children and 101 adoptive families
  • Options counseling services to 95 women and their partners/family members
  • Teen pregnancy prevention services in 18 schools, with 1,556 students
  • Family immigration legal services to 600 individuals
  • Education and enrichment services to more than 10,000 individuals.