Lifespan Family Services
2672 Helvetia Rd.
LuthersburgPA 15848

About Us

Lifespan Family Services |2672 Helvetia Rd.LuthersburgPA15848 | (814) 375-1314
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Giving Children the Support They Deserve

At Lifespan Family Services, we are proud to be a highly respected social service agency committed to excellent care and culturally competent services in DuBois and Western and Central Pennsylvania. We believe empathy, hope, and respect for faith are of utmost importance in our family foster care, adoption, and respite care services. Our strength-based perspective is intended to lead clients to positive outcomes and healthier relationships.

As many counties throughout Pennsylvania are working to reduce their county children and youth services expenses, there is always a need for outside-agency placement of children within existing service homes. We aim to place children close to home and provide the best-suited resources for each family.

Our Professional Services

Foster Care

 

Becoming a foster parent is an exciting challenge and can be a very attainable goal! At Lifespan Family Services, we love connecting foster children with parents who provide an open heart, warm home, and stable environment for their children during their time of need.

With helpful support from our caring staff, you can go through the application process and be on your way to being a registered foster parent. As a foster parent, you must be willing to take on the difficulties and responsibilities of being a parent. Important personal characteristics include enjoying being with children and being able to handle change and manage stress. Having a sense of humor and being flexible are also helpful attributes.

Creating a Structured Home

Candidates who wish to become foster parents must meet requirements set by both the state and the agency. Our organization is committed to abiding by all state regulations found in Title 55 Pa Code Chapter 3700. We have also established the following requirements set for our foster parents:

  • Foster parents must be 21 years of age or older
  • Foster parents must pass a medical examination stating that they are physically able to care for foster children and are free from communicable diseases
  • Foster parents must be able to pass screening requirements related to child abuse and criminal history clearances
 

Approval Process

The approval process can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days to complete all necessary tasks and can depend on the potential foster parents’ motivation. The typical approval process is as follows:

  1. The prospective foster family expresses interest in fostering children with the aid of LifeSpan Family Services of Pennsylvania. The family is sent a brief questionnaire about the family and their interest in fostering children.
  2. A social worker from our family services contacts the prospective family to set up an appointment to meet with the family, fill out the application, and review agency policies.
  3. The prospective foster family provides the required documentation:
    • Criminal, FBI, and child abuse clearances
    • Copies of current vehicle registration, inspection, and insurance
    • Proof of income
    • Home insurance
    • Current pet vaccinations (if applicable)
  4. With the aid of the social worker, the family becomes enrolled in the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange. This association helps connect families seeking to adopt or foster children with those needing placement.
  5. The prospective foster family must complete 20 hours of training related to safety, parenting, and issues surrounding foster parenting.
  6. The social worker conducts a home safety check in the presence of the prospective foster parents.
  7. After these steps have been completed, the foster family is ready to accept a child into their home.
 

Training Requirements

All individuals selected as foster parents at Lifespan Family Services are required to complete 20 hours of related training. Completing your training hours is easy, as we offer many in-agency or in-home training. Specific training materials can be for fire safety, first aid, CPR, and a wide variety of videos about foster parenting.

Adoption

 

Here at Lifespan Family Services, we are a SWAN program affiliate within the statewide adoption network.

Numerous adoption services at Lifespan Family Services are made available through The Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network, a partnership among the Department of Human Services, the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange, public and private adoption agencies, organizations, advocates, judges, the legal community, and foster and adoptive parents.

The SWAN program serves children in the custody of numerous county children and youth agencies. The network is designed to support the work of county agencies in expediting permanency services.

Our current approved adoption services through SWAN include:

  • Family Profiles
  • Child Profiles
  • Child-Specific Recruitment
  • Child Preparation
  • Placement
  • Adoption Finalization
  • Post-Permanency Services


Family Profiles

Developing a family profile is like creating a biography of a family wanting to adopt. Potential adoptive families must undergo a process of sharing information with the adopting agency, including home visits, interviews with family members, background checks, character references, and more. A profile is then created to match families with waiting children.

Child Profiles

Also offered through the SWAN program are child profiles, which are a comprehensive summary of the child’s life history. At Lifespan Family Services, we work hard to include as many details as possible, including educational history, vaccination history, standardized test results, school attendance, medical and dental records, and more. This can help match children with families with a strong common interest when more information is available.

Child-Specific Recruitment

Identifying adoptive resources for children in the custody of a county agency is the role of our child-specific recruitment at Lifespan Family Services. If a child is getting adopted or their foster parents do not desire to provide a permanent home, we can then unite a child with a home that is a good match based upon their personal history and current beliefs, etc.

Child Preparation

Here at Lifespan Family Services, we believe it is important to provide children with an optimal understanding of the adoption/permanency process and help them work through the potential difficulties in finding a permanent home. With our Child Preparation program, we can also help them retain their biological family history and help them transition into a new fulfilling life while respecting their former household(s). This service can also assist the child in transitioning back to their home of origin after an absence.

Placement

Our placement service at Lifespan Family Services is the physical relocation of a child into a pre-adoptive living situation. This can be with the prospective adoptive parent or parents. When placement occurs without termination of parental biological rights, it is considered to be a legal risk placement. Our experienced team utilizes all available tools to ensure a match is quality-lasting and meets all involved parties’ needs.

Adoption Finalization

Adoption finalization is the last legal step in the adoption process. Once finalized, the adoptive parents have legal rights and responsibilities for the child. Our team works closely with all parties to guide those involved through this process as efficiently as possible.

Post-Permanency Services

 

Also called post-adoption services, our post-permanency services at Lifespan Family Services support the child and family after the adoption or permanent legal guardianship has taken place. Regardless of whether or not they adopted a child from the child welfare system, all adoptive families are eligible for post-permanency services. We also allow families who have adopted privately to utilize these services.

If you have adopted a child through a public or private adoption and are having issues with your child, we can help you resolve your issue with this service. This may be in an instance of providing a respite where you both can have a brief "time out" to help calm a situation. Contact us for more information.

Our Locations

We provide services all throughout Western and Central Pennsylvania. We have three offices to serve you.

Punxsutawney Office203 Lane Avenue
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-4408
DuBois Office2672 Helvetia Road
Luthersburg, PA 15848
(814) 299-6809
New Stanton Office127 Stan Avenue
New Stanton, PA 15762
(724) 498-4961

Our Faith-Based Philosophy

At Lifespan Family Services, we support the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and our mission is to see that every child has the full support of our foster parenting agency services in fully expressing their faith.

Awards

LifeSpan Family Services was chosen by the readers or viewers of FIVE different media sources: The Best of Tri-County, Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson Counties. Priority Communications/Sunny 106, The DuBois Tri-County Sunday/Courier Express, the Progress of Clearfield PA, the Leader-Vindicator in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, as well as the Jeffersonian Democrat of Brookville, Jefferson County.

LifeSpan is part of the Chamber of Commerce in Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Clearfield, Clarion, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

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Donations

Gently used or new clothing items and shoes are appreciated. Here at Lifespan Family Services, we maintain a clothing room where we sort items by size and gender that foster children may select and keep.

At Lifespan Family Services, there is always an ongoing need for numerous essential items – undergarments, jackets, bed accessories, and more. Following are numerous items we often need for foster children and families:

  • Shoes
  • Socks
  • New Undergarments (Not Used)
  • Jackets (Both light for fall and spring plus heavy for winter)
  • Boots
  • Rain Gear
  • Clean Bedding
  • Twin Beds and Sheets
  • Blankets and Comforters
  • Mattresses (Prefer New)

Volunteer Opportunities

We require volunteers to aid in hanging up flyers and spreading the message that we are actively seeking foster families.

Diversity and Civil Rights Policies

At Lifespan Family Services, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all individuals, including those we serve, our employees, and our community partners. We believe that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or any other characteristic.

We uphold the principles of civil rights compliance and adhere to all applicable laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We strive to create a safe and supportive environment free from all forms of discrimination and bias, and we take appropriate action when any such behavior is observed or reported.

Our agency values the contributions of all individuals and recognizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in our programs and services. We are committed to ongoing education and training to ensure that our staff and partners are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to support the diverse needs of our community.

We welcome feedback from our foster families, clients, staff, and community partners on how we can continue to improve our efforts towards diversity, inclusion, and civil rights compliance. Below are copies of our Civil Rights polices.

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for patience for the foster parents and children to adjust to each other. When thrust into someone else’s home, tensions are high. Foster children already feel a sense of loss at being removed from their birth homes and often act out at least initially when placed.
  • Pray for peace for the biological families to understand that their children being removed may be temporary, especially if they address issues brought to the attention of the placing county. They also need to understand the foster parents are not their enemy.
  • Pray for friends and family members to have patience and be supportive of their friends that are fostering. They may deal with emotions and behaviors that many people may prefer not to deal with. Understand your friend or family member is committed to helping children in need.
  • Pray for the children and families to embrace prayer and faith. Studies have shown that prayer really does help. Faith can calm and give a person a reason to keep moving forward in life.
  • Pray for the foster parents to be aware that the public holds them to a higher standard than other parents. We often receive calls about how a foster family talks, what their political comments are, if they act unfair in business dealings and how they discipline and interact with the children. People are highly critical and foster parents must be always mindful that “eyes are upon them” and their character should always be as much above reproach as possible.
  • Pray that God would raise up more doctors and nurses in your area who are passionate about using their gifts and profession to bring healing and hope to children in foster care.
 
  • Pray siblings can remain together while in foster care in safe and encouraging environments.
  • Pray for the advocates of children in foster care, pray they are encouraged to do all they can do to speak for the children.
  • Pray that the President, legislators, governors, mayors and other elected officials will use their power and influence to protect the weak and vulnerable.
  • Pray that cycles of abuse will be broken when abusers reach out for help to the churches and agencies to find healing.
  • Pray for the kids in foster care in your local schools that they would find friends and encourage compassionate teachers who help them through tough times.
  • Pray that Kinship providers would have the emotional, spiritual, financial, and other resources to provide a safe home for children form their family.
  • Pray the law enforcement officers in your community would be well equipped to engage in their roles as protection of the weak, including children who experience abuse or neglect.
  • Pray lawyers and judges would have the eyes to see the specific needs of children in foster care.
  • Pray that the teachers in the school systems and daycares would be aware of the unique needs children in foster care may have and that teachers would have the tools and knowledge needed to respond to these needs.
  • Pray that God would lead children in foster care to work through the hurt they have experienced in their past.

 

  • Need to pray to God, asking him to guide and strengthen every person involved in the life of a child in foster care.
  • Pray for our agency as we support the foster families and children in our care while juggling our own personal lives.
  • Pray foster children will know God and learn about his teachings by going to Vacation Bible School, Church Socials, Sunday School and other events in the Lord’s house.
  • Pray they can participate in sporting activities, go on trips with their foster families, skip a rock across the lake for the first time, learn to ride a bike, have a family movie night, feel safe in their home, etc.

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for patience for the foster parents and children to adjust to each other. When thrust into someone else’s home, tensions are high. Foster children already feel a sense of loss at being removed from their birth homes and often act out at least initially when placed.
  • Pray for peace for the biological families to understand that their children being removed may be temporary, especially if they address issues brought to the attention of the placing county. They also need to understand the foster parents are not their enemy.
  • Pray for friends and family members to have patience and be supportive of their friends that are fostering. They may deal with emotions and behaviors that many people may prefer not to deal with. Understand your friend or family member is committed to helping children in need.
  • Pray for the children and families to embrace prayer and faith. Studies have shown that prayer really does help. Faith can calm and give a person a reason to keep moving forward in life.
  • Pray for the foster parents to be aware that the public holds them to a higher standard than other parents. We often receive calls about how a foster family talks, what their political comments are, if they act unfair in business dealings and how they discipline and interact with the children. People are highly critical and foster parents must be always mindful that “eyes are upon them” and their character should always be as much above reproach as possible.
  • Pray that God would raise up more doctors and nurses in your area who are passionate about using their gifts and profession to bring healing and hope to children in foster care.
 
  • Pray siblings can remain together while in foster care in safe and encouraging environments.
  • Pray for the advocates of children in foster care, pray they are encouraged to do all they can do to speak for the children.
  • Pray that the President, legislators, governors, mayors and other elected officials will use their power and influence to protect the weak and vulnerable.
  • Pray that cycles of abuse will be broken when abusers reach out for help to the churches and agencies to find healing.
  • Pray for the kids in foster care in your local schools that they would find friends and encourage compassionate teachers who help them through tough times.
  • Pray that Kinship providers would have the emotional, spiritual, financial, and other resources to provide a safe home for children form their family.
  • Pray the law enforcement officers in your community would be well equipped to engage in their roles as protection of the weak, including children who experience abuse or neglect.
  • Pray lawyers and judges would have the eyes to see the specific needs of children in foster care.
  • Pray that the teachers in the school systems and daycares would be aware of the unique needs children in foster care may have and that teachers would have the tools and knowledge needed to respond to these needs.
  • Pray that God would lead children in foster care to work through the hurt they have experienced in their past.

 

  • Need to pray to God, asking him to guide and strengthen every person involved in the life of a child in foster care.
  • Pray for our agency as we support the foster families and children in our care while juggling our own personal lives.
  • Pray foster children will know God and learn about his teachings by going to Vacation Bible School, Church Socials, Sunday School and other events in the Lord’s house.
  • Pray they can participate in sporting activities, go on trips with their foster families, skip a rock across the lake for the first time, learn to ride a bike, have a family movie night, feel safe in their home, etc.
Get more information about adopting a child or becoming a foster parent! Call (814) 375-1314.
Contact Us

Credentialed Affiliates

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Awards

LifeSpan Family Services was chosen by the readers or viewers of FIVE different media sources: The Best of Tri-County, Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson Counties. Priority Communications/Sunny 106, The DuBois Tri-County Sunday/Courier Express, the Progress of Clearfield PA, the Leader-Vindicator in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, as well as the Jeffersonian Democrat of Brookville, Jefferson County.

LifeSpan is part of the Chamber of Commerce in Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Clearfield, Clarion, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

awardsawards
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