Historical Summary
From the very beginning, Lutheran Social Services offered hope and healing to children. We began in 1920 as the Lutheran Children's Home Finding Society to help "unfortunate girls" and their children.
Today, our services have grown to encompass the entire family and its needs - from prevention to counseling and more. This greatly expanded ministry provides services statewide and beyond. LSS has continued with the original vision - witness the pain of human life and see the potential for healing and wholeness, while exploring new avenues of service to the people of our state. Today thousands of people of all ages, races, faiths and from all walks of life are served by Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota.
A Tradition of Compassion, Vision & Leadership
Following are highlights, expansions and changes of LSS through the years.
1920 Lutheran Children’s Home Finding Society organizes in Sioux Falls
1921 House of Mercy maternity home opens in Sioux Falls
1939 First private agency to be licensed for child care in South Dakota
1939 Name changes to Lutheran Welfare Society of South Dakota
1947 Foster Care Services begin
1948 Refugee Resettlement program begins following WWII
1961 Youth residential services begin when Summit Oaks Center is built
1962 Counseling office opens in Rapid City establishing a statewide presence
1965 Name changes to Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota
1969 Counseling office opens in Aberdeen
1970 Counseling office opens in Sioux Falls
1973 Woodfield Center (formerly Bethesda Children’s Home) becomes part of LSS
1977 Satellite counseling offices open in several communities
1983 Counseling office opens in Watertown
1984 Consumer Credit Counseling Service becomes part of LSS
1991 New Beginning Center, Aberdeen, becomes part of LSS
1993 Canyon Hills Center, Spearfish, becomes part of LSS
1997 Disaster Response Services created
1998 Gateway Apartments opens in Sioux Falls to offer affordable housing to seniors
2000 Southern Hills After School program opens in Sioux Falls
2000 Affordable housing for seniors and families is established in rural communities
2001 School-Based Mentoring becomes part of LSS
2004 Stepping Stones and Casey Foster Care, Rapid City become part of LSS
2005 New Canyon Hills Center facility in Spearfish is dedicated
2006 New Beginning Center facility expands in Aberdeen
2007 Sioux Falls Center for Children and Youth facility is dedicated
2007 Hilltop After School program opens in Sioux Falls
2007 Fatherhood & Families begins in Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Springfield and Yankton
2008 Rural Mentoring program begins in Lincoln and Minnehaha counties
2009 Woodfield Center ceases operation as a youth residential treatment center
2009 Prairie Lake affordable housing apartments open in North Sioux City
2009 Refugee & Immigration Services opens an office in Huron
2009 USucceed mentoring program begins
2010 Southern Hills expands to include infant-toddler enrichment care
2010 Community Resource Program becomes part of LSS
2012 Childcare & Education Services completes a major expansion at the Southern Hills facility and expands to additional sites in Sioux Falls including First Reformed, East Side Lutheran, and Our Savior’s Lutheran
2013 Arise Youth Center, Reception Center & Shelter Care opens in Rapid City
2013 Kinship Services becomes part of LSS
2014 LSS establishes new branding and logo design
2014 Refugee & Immigration Services changes its name to Center for New Americans
2014 Consumer Credit Counseling Service changes its name to Center for Financial Resources
2014 Arise Youth Center Evening Report Center opens in Rapid City
2014 Counseling and Re-Entry Services provide services as part of the SD Criminal Justice Initiative, CJI
2015 LSS sells Gateway Apartment building, Sioux Falls
2015 Here4Youth Childcare becomes part of LSS
2015 Better Together begins in the Sioux Falls area
2015 New Alternatives, Intensive Independent Living Services, opens in Rapid City
2015 Counseling Services incorporates telehealth technology into service delivery
2015 Counseling Services starts providing counseling to students within the schools through the PATH program
2016 Arise Youth Center, Reception Center, Shelter Care and Evening Report Center open in Sioux Falls
2016 Functional Family Therapy begins through the state’s Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Initiative
2016 Stepping Stones ceases operation
2017 Fatherhood & Families changes its name to Re-Entry Services
2017 LSS purchases property now known as the Campus on East Bank
2017 LSS sells Meadowlands affordable housing in Viborg
2017 LSS sells Broadway affordable housing in Centerville
2017 Center for New Americans office in Huron closes
2018 Re-Entry Services expands services to women through ICIP, Intermediate Correctional Intervention Program
2018 Better Together expands to Brookings
2019 Mentoring Services’ Everyday Heroes program expands to Flandreau
2019 Counseling Services changes its name to Behavioral Health Services
2019 Here4Youth Childcare & Education Services relocates to the Campus on East Bank
2019 Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sioux Empire transitions to LSS Mentoring Services
2019 Family Violence Program transitions from Compass Center to Re-Entry Services
2020 Resource Family Services becomes part of LSS
2020 LSS establishes new branding and logo update
2020 LSS celebrates 100 years of serving South Dakota
2020 Fire destroys Northport Apartments, affordable housing building, North Sioux City
2021 Cares Wraparound Services begin
2022 Older Adult Resource Network begins
2022 LSS celebrates 28 years of continuous accreditation through the Council on Accreditation, COA
2022 Multi-Cultural Center becomes part of LSS
2023 Mentoring Services expands to Aberdeen
2023 Childcare & Education Services closed East Side Lutheran location in Sioux Falls
We've grown, but our focus remains the same: providing a broad continuum of care for children and those who care for them. With our service locations in numerous South Dakota communities, help is never far away.
