Lutheran Family Services of Virginia

Lutheran Family Services of Virginia is a social ministry agency that offers adoption and foster care services, case management, developmental services for autism, home-based family services, and volunteer and therapeutic mentoring. Church and community services include disaster response, church leadership training through Healthy Congregations, and grief support, resources and education. Educational services are provided through three Minnick Education Centers in Roanoke, Harrisonburg, and Wytheville. Services are provided to people of all faith traditions and backgrounds.

LFS serves the regions in Virginia surrounding Roanoke, Richmond, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, Bedford and Wytheville. Those seeking adoption services may come from any part of the state. Our disaster response and church programs serve churches and their communities in the Virginia Synod.

History

With the support of a small group of individuals, the Rev. William S. McClanahan established the Lutheran Children’s Home of the South in 1888. From its founding in Salem, Virginia, through the 1950s, more than 1,000 children from seven states and four synods lived at the Home. In the 1960s, the Home started serving an increasing number of children with behavioral challenges for shorter periods of time and began moving in the direction of “family rehabilitation” through case management, foster care and adoption.

In the 1980s to adapt to the changing needs of children and families, the Children’s Home incorporated Lutheran Family Services to provide community, church and home-based services, and Minnick Education Center, a separate corporation to educate children on campus and the community with special needs. The Lutheran Children’s Home Board established group homes, which operated throughout the state until 1983. Today Lutheran Family Services is a respected provider of services in six regions and manages three Minnick Education Centers for children with special needs.

Affiliations

* Council on Accreditation
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
* Virginia Synod
* Lutheran Adoption Network
* Lutheran Disaster Response
* Lutheran Services in America
* Local, state and national organizations that serve and advocate for children and families

Board members

*Rev. Rick Goeres, Chair, Lutheran pastor, licensed counselor

*Rev. Joseph Vought, Vice chair, Lutheran pastor

*Rev. James Larsen, Treasurer, Lutheran pastor, formerly hospital CFO

*Robin Baliles, Secretary, Marketing, public relations and resource development consultant

*Nancy Dahl, Secretary, former teacher, business owner

*Jennifer Braaten, President, Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia

*A.R. Giesen, Former member of Virginia General Assembly, former chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Hager, member of James Madison Univ. faculty

*Vicki Sharps, volunteer fundraiser, public relations professional

*Rev. Robert Humphrey, Lutheran pastor, licensed counselor

*Edwin Meese, Former U.S. Attorney General to the President; holds Ronald Reagan chair for public policy at the Heritage Foundation, Distinguished Fellow of the Hoover Institute, Stanford University and the University of London’s Institute of U.S. Studies

Current Operating Budget 2007-08

$12,447,117.00

Program services: 93%
Administration: 7%
Date last financial audit: 6/30/06

Annual revenue sources

%Contributions: 6%
%Program Services: 93%
%Investments:.6%
%Special Events: 0
%Sales: 0
%Other: .4%

Contact information

Administrative offices:
Lutheran Family Services of Virginia
2609 McVitty Road
Roanoke, VA 24018

Phone: [phone], ext. 334
Email: [e-mail]