Dear Friends,
LSSI’s 157-year history is rooted in child welfare starting when a caring community in Berlin, now Swedona, Illinois built an orphanage for children left parentless by a cholera epidemic.
Although our programming has expanded well beyond that first orphanage, child welfare remains a critical part of our mission.
As the largest, private provider of foster care in Illinois, LSSI is a leader in child welfare services. We served 2,607 children in foster care last year. We know the work we do affects the trajectory of a child’s life.
In our leadership role, LSSI hopes to influence the state of Illinois and its Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) by partnering to improve child welfare services. We’ve already done this with our Therapeutic Foster Care Program.
Learning from that evidence-based approach, LSSI has embarked on another pilot with DCFS called Families Together (see story on page 1), which applies a similar approach as our Therapeutic Foster Care Program but to traditional foster care. Aiming to decrease the length of time children spend in foster care, Families Together combines empathic, immediate engagement, and a strengthening of the caretaking system. The goal is to reduce the length of stay in foster care, increase the use of positive, supportive parenting skills, improve the level of children’s functioning, and find children a loving, stable place to call home.
I hope you’re inspired learning about our child welfare programs. Much has changed since our founding in 1867, but our commitment to children and families entrusted in our care remains strong. Thank you for all you do that helps us continue our mission.
Peace and Prayers,
David P. Novak, JD
Vice President, Advancement
Executive Director, Cornerstone Foundation
