About Lutheran Social Services of The South, Inc
At Lutheran Social Services of the South, where we serve more than 26,000 children, elderly and poor each year in Texas and Louisiana, there is clearly more need than there are public and private resources to meet those needs. The reality is that at LSS, more than two-thirds of our programs are designed to lose money year in and year out. We would rejoice – more... if there was not a need for our services. But the sad fact is, we and every other social service organization - faith-based or not - cannot meet all of the demand placed upon our services.
Take the child welfare system, for example. Last year, we served nearly 1,300 children in our foster homes and residential treatment centers, making us the largest provider of children's residential services to abused and neglected children in Texas. These children come to us because they have been removed by state child welfare authorities from homes where kids have been neglected and/or physically, sexually and emotionally abused. If we did not recruit and train foster parents and if we did not have residential treatment centers to try to heal these children with severe emotional and behavioral problems, there would be few options for these damaged children.
Addressing the root causes of abuse and neglect - poverty, joblessness, poor education, poor parenting skills - are issues we as a society should address. Until then, though, organizations such as LSS will continue to address the results of abuse and neglect by offering these children safe havens, treatment and assurances that the environments from which they come are not the accepted norm.
I firmly disagree that the president's legislation is too small to have an impact; it is at least a step in the right direction. And that is what we haven't had in a long time: a step in any direction to reform our social services system.
Senske is president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services of the South, a faith-based, nonprofit social service organization based in Austin. – less – More from ZoomInfo »
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