Irene Clements named to state commission
June 26 , 2006

AUSTIN - Irene Clements, Lutheran Social Service’s vice president of child and family services, was recently named by the Deputy Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to serve on its newly formed Primary Care Case Management Advisory Committee.

“I feel privileged to serve on an advisory committee that will enhance the quality of health care in Texas,” said Clements. “I look forward to discussing matters that I feel strongly about and sharing my knowledge and experience on these pressing issues.”

“With several years of experience in foster care and family support programs, as well as the highest of qualifications in Texas’s foster care and adoption service’s laws and policies, Irene will be a great asset to the committee,” said Dr. Kurt Senske, chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services.

“This is yet another indication of Irene’s reputation throughout the child welfare community. We are honored to have her as part of our team.”

Clements, who has been with LSS for more than 10 years, is a member of the Statewide Interagency Committee on Foster Care and Adoption, the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies Board, the EveryChild, Inc. Policy Committee, the Texas Foster Family Association Legislative/Public Policy Committee Chair, the National Foster Parent Association Public Policy Committee Chair and served on the Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption.

Her hard work and commitment have grown LSS’s foster care program from 13 children in 1996 to more than 3,000 children who will be cared for this year. LSS is the largest provider of foster care services in the state of Texas, serving many special needs children, including those with sever medical problems and terminal health conditions. The LSS adoption program has placed more than 6,200 children in loving forever families. The award-winning foster care program cares for more than 1,400 children daily, and four residential treatment centers serve more than 240 children with severe emotional and behavioral problems each day.

Her commitment to quality foster care earned Clements the Texas Program Administrator of the Year Award twice, the 2003 Champion for Children Award, the President’s Award from National Foster Parent Association, the Lifetime Membership Award from National Foster Parent Association and the Texas Foster Family of the Year Award.

Clements was a foster parent for 27 years. She and her husband cared for more than 125 foster children and have adopted four.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission provides the leadership and guidance needed to accomplish an effective health and human services system for Texas, and the goal of the advisory committee is to increase the quality of case management services in Texas.

LSS is the social service arm of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. LSS annually serves more than 30,000 children, elderly and poor in Texas and Louisiana regardless of religious beliefs, ethnicity, gender or age. Its nationally accredited ministries include basic, habilitative, therapeutic and primary medical foster care, adoption, children’s residential treatment centers, senior health care, retirement communities, adult day care, disaster response and emergency assistance.

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