Lutheran Service Agency in Kansas, Oklahoma Closes its Doors

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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