Founded in 1865 by volunteers with a focus on orphan children, Lutheran Social Service is a Minnesota-based nonprofit social services agency. It is owned and operated by the six Minnesota synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The agency offers customized services for children and youth, families and adults, and seniors and people with disabilities. Lutheran Social Service employs more than 2,200 individuals who serve over 300 communities. The agency's funding sources include fees from clients, church support, service contracts, private grants, and individual contributions and bequests. It has partnerships with Journey Homes, Life Haven and Rezek.
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Child Protection Services protects children who are at risk of abuse or neglect while making every effort to keep families intact. Child Protection Services also offers referrals for counseling for families, training for adoptive or foster parents and licensing services for child welfare agencies. CPS social workers investigate reports of child abuse and neglect, temporarily removing children from the home when necessary while the family works to restore stability. Workers offer support services to help families with problems before they become too severe. Services include counseling, special-needs day care while parents attend mental health or alcohol abuse treatment programs, and regular visits with families where there is a risk of child abuse or neglect. CPS has adoptive custody of many 'special needs' children, who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect. These are children with disabilities, members of sibling groups, older children, children of mixed race and children with emotional needs.
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