Family Services (formerly LDS Family Services) is a private

nonprofit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation may ...

owned and operated by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. It offers members of the church and others marital and family counseling,

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

and

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

dependency counseling, general

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

, counseling, and other services to women or girls experiencing

unintended pregnancy Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception. Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant cause of unintended pregnancy. Wor ...

. In addition to individual counseling, classes are offered on strengthening marriage and families, along with the Addiction Recovery Program, which is based on the 12-step model and Christian values.

History

In 1919, the organization was created as the Relief Society Social Service Department (RSSSD) by Amy B. Lyman, an official in the church's

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

organization. In 1969, the organization was renamed Unified Social Services (USS) and separated from the Relief Society. In 1973, the organization became a corporation separate from the church and was renamed LDS Social Services; in 1995, the name was changed to LDS Family Services. In 2019, the name was changed to Family Services. Until 1934, the program only had professional staff in Salt Lake City. In that year additional offices were opened in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Starting in 1957 the

Indian Placement Program The Indian Placement Program (IPP) or Indian Student Placement Program (ISPP), also called the Lamanite Placement Program,

was placed under the auspices of the RSSSD. In 1962, a branch office was opened in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, with another opened in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

in 1965. When the program was removed from being under the direction of the Relief Society and USS was created in 1969,

Marvin J. Ashton Marvin Jeremy Ashton (May 6, 1915 – February 25, 1994) was a Utah politician and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1971 until his death in 1994. Ashton was born t ...

was appointed as managing director. The USS oversight committee consisted of

Marion G. Romney Marion George Romney (September 19, 1897 – May 20, 1988) was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life Romney was born in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico ...

as chair, with

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day S ...

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

, John Vandenbergh (the church's presiding bishop), and Belle S. Spafford as members. In 1971, when Ashton became a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies or ( quorums) of the church hie ...

he was replaced by

Victor L. Brown Victor Lee Brown (31 July 1914 – 26 March 1996) was the tenth Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1972 to 1985. He was an LDS Church general authority from 1961 until his death. Brown was born ...

. As of 2019, Family Services has 85 offices in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and several other south and central American countries. Staff must have a minimum of a master's degree in behavioral sciences.

Adoption services discontinued

For decades, Family Services had been one of the largest, private, nonprofit adoption agencies in the world. However, in June 2014 the agency announced that it would no longer operate a full-scale adoption agency. Instead, Family Services planned to shift all of its adoption-related resources to counseling for birth parents and prospective adoptive parents and partner with local agencies for services it no longer provided. According to the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', the agency cited changes in adoption trends such as the reduction in children available for adoption. Family Services has been the subject of lawsuits about fathers' rights in some adoption cases, and other religious-based adoption agencies are under pressure to facilitate adoptions for same-sex couples. But the organization said that none of these issues influenced its decision.

References

*C. Ross Clement (1992)
"Social Services"
in ''

Encyclopedia of Mormonism The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The five-volume texts have been digitized and are availabl ...

'' (New York: Macmillan) p. 1386–1387. *''Encyclopedia of Latter-Day Saint History'', p. 1157.

External links

Family Services
: official webpage
Addiction Recovery Program
: Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) meetings webpage {{Authority control Adoption-related organizations Community and social services occupations Organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Relief Society Social work organizations Organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in the United States