wfn.org | Lutheran Service Agency in Kansas, Oklahoma Closes its Doors

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 29, 2002

LUTHERAN SERVICE AGENCY IN KANSAS, OKLAHOMA CLOSES ITS DOORS
02-254-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- After 123 years of adoption, foster care, family
support, counseling and disaster services, Lutheran Social Services of
Kansas and Oklahoma (LSSKO) is in the process of reassigning its
clients, selling off its assets and closing its doors.	The social
ministry organization's board decided Oct. 15 to pay off its creditors
and go out of business.
     "We've negotiated homes for all of our programs," said Marc
Bloomingdale, LSSKO's acting chief executive officer.  "Foster care and
other services should move seamlessly from one organization to another,"
he said.
     Bloomingdale said all LSSKO services should complete their
transitions to other agencies by Nov. 1.  "We've been working to take
care of our clients and staff," he said, and the process of closing the
business will follow.
     LSSKO was a social ministry organization of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS) through the churches' local expressions: the ELCA
Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, ELCA Central States Synod, LCMS Kansas District
and LCMS Oklahoma District.
     In October 1996, Kansas awarded LSSKO the statewide contract for
adoption services.  In July 2000, Kansas awarded the second round of
private contracts to Kansas Children's Service League, and LSSKO entered
into a subcontract with the league.  In August, LSSKO told the league it
would not enter into another contract, because costs exceeded resources.
In the past six years, 4,457 children were placed in permanent homes
through special needs adoption.
     LSSKO was left with "a growing debt related to special needs
adoption that threatened the continued existence of the agency," said
Bloomingdale and the Rev. Christine E. Iverson, board chair, in an Oct.
17 statement.  "The agency developed a business plan to relieve the debt
and to continue providing its other services," they said.
     "The business plan required both additional funding and an
extended period of time to repay outstanding debt to be successful," but
LSSKO could not come up with the additional funding, said Bloomingdale
and Iverson.  "After careful consideration of all of the options
available to the agency, the board concluded that the only way to
address the obligations is to liquidate the agency and use all available
resources to address the debts to the extent possible," they said.
     "Our thoughts and prayers are with the children, the foster
parents and our staff during this time of transition," said Bloomingdale
and Iverson.  "The [Kansas] Department of Social and Rehabilitative
Services has offered assistance during this time to ensure that the
children we serve continue to receive the highest quality of care," they
said.
     "This process will cause a tremendous change in the social service
delivery system in Kansas and Oklahoma.  It is our deepest hope that
this transition can happen with minimal disruption to the people we
serve," said Bloomingdale and Iverson.
     "Negotiations with the other social service agencies include
opportunities for both staff and foster parents to move to another
agency and continue their personal missions to serve children.	This
will provide for continuity of care and service availability," they
said.
     The Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, bishop of the ELCA Central States
Synod, Shawnee Mission, Kan., and the Rev. Floyd M. Schoenhals, bishop
of the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, Tulsa, Okla., sent an Oct. 18
memorandum to ELCA pastors and congregations.  "Our thoughts and prayers
this day are with the staff of Lutheran Social Service of Kansas and
Oklahoma, and with the many people this agency has served through so
many years of outstanding service," they said.
     "This is a sad day for Lutheran Social Service of Kansas and
Oklahoma.  We deeply regret the news that this agency, with its
longstanding tradition of service to the people of this region, must
liquidate its assets," said Mansholt and Schoenhals.
     The bishops noted several of the agency's achievements and the
services provided to people in time of need.  "Our hope is that this
church will be able to find ways to continue providing social services
for children and families, and to respond to disasters," they said.
     Jill Schumann, president and CEO, Lutheran Services in America
(LSA), Baltimore, explained the LSSKO board's decision Oct. 25 to the
board of the ELCA Division for Church in Society here.	She said the
closure taught an important lesson: "It is very important, when an
individual or organization is experiencing difficulties, not to wait too
long to reach out for help."
     LSA is an alliance of the ELCA, LCMS and 280 Lutheran social
ministry organizations.  Schumann said several agencies and church units
worked to provide options other than closing LSSKO without success.
     In 1879, the Augustana Lutheran Church opened Mariadahl Orphan's
Home north of Manhattan, Kan.  In 1902, the LCMS organized the Lutheran
Children's Friend Society in Winfield, Kan.  Mergers and moves to
central offices in Wichita reflected trends toward permanent adoption
placement and services to the whole family.  Beyond Wichita, LSSKO had
offices in Great Bend, Hays, Hutchinson, Pittsburg and Topeka in Kansas,
and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma.
     LSSKO provided pregnancy counseling, infant adoption, special
needs adoption, foster care, family counseling and disaster response
services for residents of Kansas and Oklahoma regardless of their
religious affiliations.
     While dealing primarily with floods and tornadoes across both
states, the agency became well-known nationally for its disaster
response to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City.	LSSKO worked closely with Lutheran Family Services of
Colorado to provide support for the families of the victims during the
Denver trial of Timothy McVeigh.  LSSKO had since become a provider of
training for other social service agencies on dealing with acts of
terrorism.

EDITORS: Pittsburg, Kan., is spelled correctly.

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