Helping the most vulnerable has been LFS’ history. Founded in 1948 to provide adoptive placement for unwanted children, as social trends and service delivery changed, programs were adapted to meet new and increasing community needs for birth parent counseling and foster care. In the 1960’s, LFS also began to provide services to the aging population, and in the 1970’s, impacted by the Vietnam War, 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 junior and senior high schools.  Since 2002, LFS has added an African American Caregiver Support program and an infant adoption awareness training program for healthcare providers, enhanced its disaster response program; and, in 2005 was accredited to provide basic legal immigration services. LFS is now 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 soon in Casper, Wyoming, 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.  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 include:

• Refugee resettlement and asylee services to 1,017 individuals
• Foster care to 459 children through 213 therapeutic and traditional foster homes
• Family services to 107 individuals in 30 families
• Care management and other direct services to 212 older adults and caregivers
• Parent education and support and child abuse prevention to 407 individuals
• Adoption services for 32 children and 100 adoptive families
• Pregnancy counseling services to 67 individuals
• Teen pregnancy prevention services in 23 schools, with 1,356 students
• Case management services for 1,617 Katrina evacuees in 523 family units
• Family immigration legal services to 341 family units
• Education and enrichment services to more than 10,000 individuals