Our Impact

Imagine if everyone were able to get the help they need so that they would have the capacity to fully develop their
God given gifts. That is what LCFS is all about. Learn how people are changing their lives every day with the
assistance of LCFS programs and services.

During the past fiscal year, LCFS impacted thousands of lives:

2,187

2,187 children were cared for in foster families

416

416 foster children found a permanent home with 169 able to return to their birth families

270

270 children found their forever families through adoption

305

305 at-risk families were strengthened through preventative services

170

170 individuals and families were supported through counseling services

455

455 children and birth families involved in foster care or preventative programs were provided with counseling services

3,654

3,654 children and individuals visited Camp Wartburg for camp, retreats or outdoor education

70

70 birth parents were counseled in making parenting decisions

65

65 youth in care received emergency shelter or therapeutic daycare at southern thirty Adolescence center.

LCFS Performance and Quality Improvement Annual Report

This report serves as feedback to our stakeholders on the outcomes and performance and quality improvement activities of LCFS for the past fiscal year.

View Report

Our Clients. Their Stories.

Adopting During a Pandemic: Brian, Gordon and Ada

Families come in all forms, and families formed by adoption are inspiring because they impact so many lives. Early on in their relationship, Gordon and Brian discovered their shared longing for fatherhood. “Pretty quickly we realized we were two men who both had dreams of starting a family,” explained Gordon, “and weren’t sure about how […]

Everybody Deserves Love & a Second Chance

With you by our side, youth in LCFS’ Regenerations program receive the love and support they need to get their lives back on the right track. Thank you for all that you do. Sadly, there are hundreds of older foster youth in correctional and detention centers around Illinois that are past their release dates, but stay […]

Navigating the Adoption Journey Together

When you partner with LCFS, you help birth parents to receive counseling support, children to find forever families and adults to realize their dreams of becoming moms and dads through adoption. Even, during a pandemic. In November, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois and others will celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. Lives are impacted […]

I Don’t Want to be by Myself, I Want to be Adopted

Foster fathers gave six boys a forever family through adoption On any given day, more than 122,000 foster children are eligible for adoption and they will wait, on average, four years for an adoptive family. Ideally, the goal of foster care is to reunite children with their families through the proper supports, but that isn’t […]

The greatest gift

This past year with individuals like you on our side, LCFS helped 245 children find their forever families through adoption. In celebration of National Adoption month, we’d like to share one of the stories your support made possible. Josiah was born at 25 weeks weighing only 1 lb. 5 oz. Numerous drugs were found in his […]

Changing worlds through adoption

Brett and Kevin met and began their relationship through an online dating app. “We hit it off immediately. It was a case of love at first sight,” said Brett. They met in person for the first time on October 30th and two years later, on the exact same date, got engaged and started planning their […]

Support and commitment

Like many foster children, Gwen (not her real name) experienced multiple traumas during her young life. But she is now living with a caring foster family and celebrating a four-year college scholarship. Gwen has been with her foster family for three years and the support and commitment of her foster parents Karen and Ralph (not […]

Responding with understanding

To say Peter (not his real name) was angry when he came to Lutherbrook was an understatement. Now 18 years old, Peter was verbally and physically abused by his mother when he was a child. He had problems controlling his anger, which manifested itself through verbal and physical aggression. That aggression led to run-ins with […]

Collaborating with partners to empower families

“I left my addiction behind. I didn’t want to lose my kids.” Tess (not her real name) started on drugs when she was 16, becoming an addict as she progressed from marijuana to cocaine. After giving birth to a substance-exposed infant, it was recommended that she begin inpatient treatment. Tess agreed, beginning her two-year journey […]

Providing hope in a difficult time

Adrianna became a client of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois’ (LCFS) Extended Family Support program when she started caring for her nephew Marcello (both pictured, above). Marcello’s first couple years were rough. His mother gave birth to him in prison at the start of a 25 year sentence. He bounced from family member […]