Report to Stakeholders - Year 2001
Letter from the LSS President
Dear Friends of LSS,
The Board of Directors, the staff, and I are proud to report to you that Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota stayed the course of its mission on 2001, while growing by 12% and serving more people than we have in our history. We have expressed the love of Christ for all people through countless acts of service. We have changed lives.
One of the big challenges for LSS continues to be telling our story since we offer so many services in so many different places in a variety of ways. Our annual report this year tries to isolate each of these services for you, giving you the details that show you the extent of work we do and the impact each service has. Let us know if this helps you understand our complex and expansive organization of services.
The year 2001 was a year of grand results for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. Given the challenges inherent in the economy and the turning of our national attention, that is no mean feat.
Our Long-Range Plan, Interpreting Mission for the New Millennium, continues to drive organizational priorities. This plan has three broad themes:
We worked hard to better equip our staff to understand and articulate agency mission in our context of our very important diversity of expression of faith. We expanded our public visibility in various media and public events. We sought always to make decisions, especially the most difficult ones, in the context of our mission of service.
We had great success in achieving innovation through technology! Especially in financial services and adoption, there were 20-25 percentage increases in referrals through the Internet! The development of various Intranet web sites has set the stage for 2002 for improved administrative functions that will help drive quality and introduce new efficiencies.
The Plan commits LSS to continued growth. We did that in 2001, growing 12% over the prior year, and growing by a parallel amount for 2002. The Plan also commits LSS to be deliberate in deciding what services to grow and what services to leave for others. The agency-wide Self-Assessment Process of 2001 laid a vital foundation for decision-making and priorities then and into the future.
We expanded the number of service populations from whom we solicited service satisfaction results and consistently achieved 90th percentile results. We received consistently high marks for prompt and courteous service, for treating clients with dignity and respect, for providing good access to care, and for helping clients achieve their goals. Importantly, we received a strong affirmation that clients would use our service again if in trouble and would refer friends and family.
Despite the events of September 11, our philanthropic support remained largely unchanged. We thank our church, foundation, and individual donors for their continued support of our mission for changing lives.
For all those who were served in 2001, let me offer their thanks to our many partners in service. Each day I am reminded that LSS is able to do its work because of the trust and energy that our partners in service provide. We are blessed and indeed grateful for that support. We needed it in 2001; we will need it in the future as well.
Mark Peterson
Letter from the Board Chair:
In last year's letter to friends, staff and other supporters of LSS, I tried to share with you the enthusiasm that the Board of Directors had for the future because of the Long-Range Plan which the organization had adopted. This year, I write to you to say that the organization is working that plan to achieve the stated goals. Those results are reported elsewhere in this publication.
There is other exciting and important work that the LSS Board of Directors is addressing.
First, the Board worked diligently at studying and applying new principles of governance for the LSS. We have used John Carver's successful model of organization governance to craft a system of governance that we believe will work well for LSS. Our overall goal as a Board is to shape the organization's vision and policies so that the organization can work as effectively as possible. The Board's goal is not to serve as a watchdog group or as helpful volunteers, but rather, as the servant of the Church, to act as trustee-owners.
For the Church, we take seriously the mission of expressing the love of Christ for all people through acts of service. We understand the vision that LSS is to help people live and work in community with dignity, safety and hope. The mission and vision are used as a touchstone in forming the policies to govern the agency's work. To do this, we must continually ask these questions:
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Who benefits from our work?
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What are the benefits that these individuals receive?
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What are the costs associated with providing these benefits?
These are the key questions that the Board asks of LSS. And they are the same questions that LSS management asks on a daily basis as it reviews the service portfolio. They are important questions. People of our church and in our communities deserve to know how we answer them. In answering them, we see clearly the value of LSS' work.
Second, and just as important, the commitment and energy of the Board of Directors has reached an all-time high. In addition to difficult and relentless work on the new governance model, members of the Board have taken on individual assignments to serve on committees and to host special friend-raising events. The church can be proud of the selfless dedication that these individuals have demonstrated to LSS and to the Church.
From each of the Directors on the Board, I offer our sincere thanks for your prayers and for your support. While we recognize the nobility of our work in advocating for and helping the weak, the vulnerable, and the poor, we know that it is work we cannot do alone. We know that your support makes the difference in every respect. With God's blessings, we will continue to advance His mission.
Sincerely,
Reverend Gerald Hoffman, Chair, LSS Board of Directors
THOSE WE SERVE
This agency has always had a passion to serve. In 1865, it was the children. In 1905, it was "those who come as strangers to the city" including African-Americans. By 1948, it included displaced persons from Eastern Europe. In the 1950s, it included persons with disabilities. By 1973, it included significant numbers of older persons. Beginning in 1975, it included refugees from Southeast Asia. In the 1980s, it included displaced rural families. In the 1990s, it included huge populations of persons affected by disasters, persons requiring guardianship, financial services, affordable housing, and employment programs.
LSS has a passion to serve. The agency's Long-Range Plan, however, demands a focus and requires that the agency serve with excellence. Services for populations better served by others should be provided by others.
In 2001, LSS embarked on a self-assessment process to determine, in part, the focus of its broad portfolio. The result?
LSS has eliminated services in communities where it could not serve ¾ both with distinction and with financial viability, recognizing that even this organization cannot be "all things to all people." At the same time, LSS does not seek to be a "single service" organization; its mandate from the Lutheran Church doesn't permit that.
LSS is grounded in its mission, guided by its vision, and directed by its plan.
We are committed to serve CHILDREN AND YOUTH - vulnerable infants, children, and adolescents - particularly those who are homeless, those with special needs, those at risk for out-of-home placement, and those within the child welfare system.
We are committed to serve ADULTS AND FAMILIES - families, regardless of religious affiliation or composition, living in or entering LSS' geographic service territory, who seek services, support and/or activities to strengthen and enhance their family system.
We are committed to serve OLDER PERSONS and
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - those with physical, mental, medical, psychological, spiritual, social, or housing needs, and those who lack adequate financial resources.
RESULTS/BENEFITS
LSS Adoption Services
LSS Adoption Services offer comprehensive services through five offices: Metro, Duluth, St. Cloud, Moorhead, and Mankato. Services include pregnancy counseling, international, domestic and special needs adoptions, and post-adoption services.
