Lutheran Family Services

Lutheran Family Services expresses love for all people by providing quality human care services that build and strengthen individual, family, and community life.

For over 30 years, LFS has been dedicated to serving Lexington. Our commitment to working alongside our community has been unwavering, thanks to the support of so many amazing people and partners. With your help, we can sustain and expand the services and support our community depends on. Join us in making a difference today!

Today, LFS is the largest human care organization in Nebraska and Western Iowa and leads as an organization providing comprehensive community‐based health and wellness services to all people, offering a continuum of personalized services. LFS provides quality, person-centered care across a broad spectrum of human services. LFS has three primary AND intentionally overlapping service areas: Behavioral Health, Children and Family Services, Refugee, Immigration, and Special Population Services.

LFS’s Behavioral Health programs support clients with depression and trauma to addiction, those with severe and persistent mental health illness, and co-occurring disorders. LFS offers a range of clinical services and community-based programs designed to provide real help and hope. All services are client-centered and culturally competent, serving diverse populations, including children, adults, veterans, and refugees,  ensuring everyone receives the support they need. 

Since 1892, our Children and Families Services have been a pillar of care, offering a range of programs tailored to diverse needs. From Prevention and Early Intervention, and Foster Care, LFS ensures every child finds a loving home. Recently, LFS has been striding to close the gap between foster care and adulthood by opening the Transitional Living Program for youth aging out of foster care, which includes housing, rental support, employment services, case management, and community connection.

 LFS is the largest statewide Refugee Settlement agency in Nebraska, with programs assisting refugees, immigrants, asylees, and victims of human trafficking, ensuring they receive the resources and guidance needed to thrive in their new communities. From economic empowerment initiatives and interpretation services to immigration legal assistance and intensive case management through our Refugee Support Program (RSP), LFS is committed to helping individuals achieve self-sufficiency and successful integration.

LFS provides the following Services in Lexington

Adult Behavioral Health - Provides mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders. 

Refugee Reception, Placement, and Support - As we have been building services in Central Nebraska, we have started to address refugees and their needs beyond our resettlement site in Lexington. 

Fatherhood Initiative - Re-engages fathers with their children and supports the family in their efforts to overcome struggles and improve their lives. 

Care and Service Coordination—As leaders in the health care system, LFS understands that navigating the complex and fragmented system can be overwhelming and stressful. Care and Service Coordination supports individuals and families in understanding care options, harmonizing care across multiple agencies for seamless transitions, empowering self-driven decisions and engagement, and overcoming obstacles that prevent receiving ongoing care.

Adoption - LFS was founded as an orphanage in 1892 and has served children ever since. Adoption has gone through many changes over the years, and we have been there to help families navigate them all.

Safe Release – The LFS Safe Release program promotes the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children in Lexington. 

Impact in Lexington

LFS served 318 individuals in 2023 and provided more than 850 services. The majority of these services were in Adult Behavioral Health. At the halfway mark in 2024, we are set to exceed our 2023 numbers, as we have seen 214 individuals for over 660 services. In the past year and continuing through 2025, LFS has been focused on providing real help and real hope to all in the Lexington community by focusing on the delivery of services to solve the social determinants of health and support each person's needs.

LFS is the largest Refugee Resettlement agency in Nebraska. With the Humanitarian Crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, these families are finding welcoming new homes in communities like Lexington. In 2023, 60 refugees resettled in Lexington. To ensure these families have the assistance they need, LFS provided nine classes, 45 instances of employment services, and over 100 services for walk-in case management and empowerment services support. As we move through 2024 and 2025, we have found larger cities on the east and west coasts are at capacity for resettlement families making t communities like Lexington appealing.