Each day at LFSRM we strive to provide support to families throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Our work continues to grow as we continuely look for new resources and services to help strengthen our communities.
5,973 Refugees & Asylee Clients Served
140 Children/Youth in Foster Care Served - 24,820 Nights of Care
78 URM Children Youth in Foster Care served - 23,680 Nights of Care
73 Older Adult Wards with LFSRM Guardianship
20 Adoptive Placements
67 Birth Parents Receiving Pregnancy Options counseling
6,821 Children and 366 Families served through Family Support & Education
1,465 filings completed through Immigration Legal Services
Billings
Refugee & Asylee
Colorado Springs
Adoption
Foster Care
KPC Family Resource Center
SafeCare Parent Support
Pregnancy Options Colorado
Refugee & Asylee
Denver
Adoption
Foster Care
Immigration Legal Services
Older Adult
Pregnancy Options Colorado
Refugee & Asylee
Fort Collins
Adoption
Foster Care
Parenting Education
Pregnancy Options Colorado
Greeley/Evans
Parenting Education
Refugee & Asylee
SafeTouch
Supervised Family Time & Safe Exchange
Las Cruces
Refugee & Asylee
Immigration Legal Services
Salt Lake City
Immigration Legal Services
Since 1948 we have helped to build families through infant, designated, and international adoption by providing support, education, and counseling to parents.
We help to build families through infant, designated, and international adoption by providing support, education, and counseling. As a full service Colorado adoption agency, our adoption and pregnancy counselors work closely with clients
as they consider and prepare for adoptive parenthood.
INTERSTATE COMPACT (ICPC) REVIEWS
LFSRM is contracted by the State of Colorado to review all Interstate Compacts for the Placement of Children related to adoptive placements entering Colorado. During Fiscal Year 2025 the program reviewed 130 ICPC placement packets to ensure the safely of children and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Each year in Colorado, thousands of children are unable to live with their biological parents because of abuse or neglect. At LFSRM, we believe there is no such thing as “other people’s kids.” Through our Foster Care Program, we provide skilled, caring substitute families for children unable to live with their birth families.
We work diligently with our families to support them through the foster process and beyond. Foster parents receive training to gain skills on how to responsively support these youth. A case manager is assigned to each family to provide specialized support that helps families navigate the lives of these children.
Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) are children under the age of 18 who have been resettled in the United States without a parent or relative to care for them. LFSRM’s URM Foster Care program provides care and specialized assistance for children who were forced to flee their country of origin due to war, persecution, or unrest, and whose parents and adult caregivers are deceased or unable to be located. LFSRM trains and supports culturally and linguistically appropriate homes, supports a network of other sub-contracted placement providers, and provides Supervised Independent Living services for URM youth in the program.
Since 1975 LFSRM Refugee & Asylee Programs have helped people who have been uprooted by persecution and violence work towards self-sufficiency through essential resettlement services, including: housing, employment, English language, and cultural orientation. Some locations have other grant-funded programs.
Program Highlight: Refugee Youth Mentor Program
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Our MED program provides training, technical assistance, and loans for Refugees and Asylees to start, maintain, and expand small businesses. The program helps to create refugee owned small businesses, generate jobs, increase incomes, and contribute to the local economy. Programs operated in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs issuing 10 credit building loans and 18 small business loans.
Immigration Legal Services (ILS) provides consultation and assistance to newcomers, who are lawfully present, seeking immigration relief through Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residency, Employment Authorization, Naturalization/Citizenship applications, and assistance with renewals and replacement documents. The program also provides assistance with relative petitions, consular processing, refugee travel documents, and waiver requests.
The Safe Release Support program also provided fingerprinting for 55 individuals in Denver, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Salt Lake City in order to support family reunification.
Research shows newcomers with representation fare better at every stage of the immigration process.
Every family has strengths and every family can use support. We believe that every child deserves to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment. Through these programs families gain skills to provide a safe home.
FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAMS
KPC Family Resource Center: Offers temporary crisis and planned childcare for infants and young children in Colorado Springs providing relief and support to parents and guardians.
Supervised Family Time & Safe Exchange: Provides a comfortable, nurturing environment for families and children to have supervised family time, monitored family time, and safe exchanges in Northern Colorado.
SafeCare Colorado: Offers in-home, voluntary services that support families in Colorado Springs in gaining skills to provide a safe home, address child health needs, and engage in positive interactions with their children under 5 years.
Parenting Education: Provides a number of different classes in Northern Colorado to teach parents and provide support as they learn parenting skills.
Program Highlight: SafeCare
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SafeTouch Child Safety Class: This class concentrates on how children and adolescents can protect themselves from any type of abusive or unwanted touch.
Our Older Adult Program serves unbefriended individuals and the facilities that care for them. Unbefriended individuals are those who have no written outline of their care preference
and no identified family or friends to assist in medical decision-making when needed.
Our team assists hospital and nursing home administration by collaboratively working with staff in order to prepare to petition the court to establish guardianship allowing LFSRM to move patients to an appropriate care setting, and to provide support to address social determinants of health.
Our Disaster Relief program provides disaster case management to assist households impacted by natural or manmade disaster with their recover process. The program assists clients with meeting immediate needs related housing, food, clothing instability, and partners with other community organizations to connect clients with tangible resources as well as emotional and spiritual care.
In FY24-25, the program assisted a small number of households impacted by the Alexander Mountain Fire which occured in July 2024 just west of Loveland, CO.
Calgary Englewood Church
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Clothes to Kids - Denver
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The Exchange Club of Falcon - Falcon
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We are grateful for the willingness of our volunteers to give of their time, energy, and talents. Their support allows us to continue fulfilling our mission and serve thousands of people through the Rocky Mountain region each year.
2025 Volunteers of the Year - Colorado Springs | Betsy and Tim Powell
| Program Area | Number of Volunteers | Volunteer Hours | Value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foster Care | 8 | 17 | $591 |
| Prevention Services | 26 | 1,147 | $39,904 |
| Refugee & Asylee Program Billings | 85 | 1,257 | $43,731 |
| Refugee & Asylee Program Colorado Springs | 97 | 2,957 | $102,874 |
| Refugee & Asylee Program Denver | 145 | 6,465 | $224,917 |
| Refugee & Asylee Program Greeley | 20 | 793 | $27,589 |
| Refugee & Asylee Program Albuquerque & Las Cruces | 24 | 310 | $10,785 |
| Special Events | 5 | 12 | $418 |
| Board & Trustees Members | 18 | 354 | $12,316 |
| Total Value of Volunteers | 428 | 13,312 | $463,125 |
In 2025, the value of one hour of volunteer time = $34.79, per Independent Sector
*Figure rounded to the nearest dollar
Fiscal Year 2024-2025
(July 1, 2024 -June 30, 2025)
Mr. Tom Brook
Contractual Fractional Services Management
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Tino Cruz
Health Care Services Director
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Joe DesJardin
Civil Engineer
Southern Colorado
Pastor Nicolé Ferry
Senior Pastor
New Mexico
Ms. Amy Johnson
Project Manager/Engineer
Northern Colorado
Ms. Lori Ann Fujioka Knutson
First Assistant Attorney General, Contracts and Procurement Unit
Denver Metro Colorado
Pastor Julie McNitt
Lead Servant for Spiritual Life
Denver Metro Colorado
Ms. Mary Jo Michels
Social Worker (Retired)
Montana
Ms. Margarita Reyes
Lay Leader
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Jeff Solomonson
Financial Consultant
Northern Colorado
Mr. Eric Stolp
Financial Consultant
Southern Colorado
Ms. Marjorie (Margie) Versen,
Chief Financial Officer
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Frank Virginia
Director of Technical Services
Denver Metro Colorado
Ms. Nga Vuong-Sandoval
U.S. Refugee Advisory Board Project Manager
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Peter Whitmore
Attorney
Denver Metro Colorado
Ex-Officio
The Rev. Dr. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
Bishop, Rocky Mt. Synod, ELCA
Mr. James Horan
President & CEO, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains
Dr. William (Bill) Ayen
Instructor (Retired)
Southern Colorado
Mr. Greg Bickle
Financial Representative
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Tom Brook
Contractual Fractional Services Management
Denver Metro Colorado
Mr. Joe DesJardin
Civil Engineer
Southern Colorado
Mr. Don Filegar
Financial Executive (Retired)
Northern Colorado
Mr. Keith LaShier
Commercial Real Estate (Retired)
Denver Metro Colorado
Ms. Jeanne Maloney
Denver Metro Colorado
Ms. Karen Spies, Chair
Author
Denver Metro Colorado
Ex-Officio
Mr. James Horan
President & CEO, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains