Lutheran Social Service Of Colorado

Refugee resettlement services: in the past year, lfsrm's refugee resettlement programs served 6,259 individuals from 68 countries with resettlement services throughout colorado and new mexico and a small number of clients in montana. Lfsrm provides quality case management and a range of services to facilitate social, cultural, and economic integration for the whole family, assisting with housing, education, employment, and connection to a variety of other services to meet individual and family needs. During the fiscal year, clients served by lfsrm's resettlement programs were on average placed in permanent housing within 5.14 days of arrival and were employed within 4.25 months of arrival. Additional services this year included refugee youth education programming, youth focused social-emotional skill building and mentoring services, and early childhood education programming for refugee women. The program also offered micro-loans and individual development accounts to support small business creation and asset attainment.

Disaster relief: in the past year, lfsrm completed disaster case management support and recovery assistance to residents who were impacted by the marshall fire and straightline wind event which destroyed and damaged more than 1,000 homes in louisville, superior and parts of unincorporated boulder county, colorado. Recovery navigators provided vital support to individuals and families including connection to emergency financial assistance for those facing housing and food instability, education on available resources and complex rebuilding processes, assistance with applications for available funding, emotional and spiritual care, and advocacy on behalf of impacted residents. During the fiscal year the program provided services to 957 households.

Adoption & birth parent counseling: lfsrm provides a full range of pregnancy counseling and adoption services. Clients who are experiencing unexpected pregnancies receive unbiased and accurate information about all options, allowing them to make a well-informed decision they can feel confident about. Clients receive follow-up support regardless of the option they choose and receive relinquishment counseling when needed. For clients who choose adoption, lfsrm helps to match the child with an adoptive family and assists through the completion of the legal process. Lfsrm's adoption program supports open adoptions, providing assistance to families throughout the entire adoption process, including finalization of their adoptive child. Designated adoption assistance is provided for families who are already matched with a birth mother in order to complete their adoptions. Lfsrm also provides home study approvals for international and non-public interstate adoptions in the state of colorado. In the past year, lfsrm's adoption program completed 13 private adoptive placements.

Older adult services: in the past year, lfsrm's older adult program acted as the legal guardian for 69 individuals with neurological impairments related to dementia, alzheimer disease, or massive stroke who were determined by their doctor to lack capacity to provide informed consent to medical treatment and were found to have no advance directives or "surrogate" decision maker to make decisions on their behalf. The program partnered with hospital systems throughout the denver metropolitan area to identify and provide services for clients to ensure they received appropriate medical care and were able to discharge from the hospital to live in the least restrictive appropriate to their needs. The program largely works with individuals who are indigent, many of whom are veterans and have experienced homelessness. Lfsrm provides oversight and care to individuals through end of life, including short term services for individuals diagnosed to be within 3 to 6 months of passing to allow them to receive hospice care in their final days. The program honors the dignity of each individual and values every person's self-determination and decision making ability to the degree possible to ensure their health, safety and well-being. The program also aided 6 families who needed support during to establish guardianship for their loved ones to understand their responsibilities and requirements.

Family support and education services: lfsrm provides a range of programs to strengthen and support families, improve family relationships and educate children and families on safety and parenting topics. Lfsrm offers both court ordered and voluntary services to support families to provide both primary and secondary prevention in response to community needs. The agency offers the state's only emergency respite center, providing free child care to families in crisis, and offers evidence based and evidence informed education programs. In the past year, lfsrm provided family support and education services to 4,986 children and 850 unique families.