Herman Thomas Jr. became the foster care director at Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri for the St. Louis region in August.

He has more than 20 years of experience serving vulnerable youth and families, and most recently spent a decade as the deputy juvenile officer supervisor at the Family Juvenile Court of St. Louis city. In that role, he managed a team of officers, prepared court reports and oversaw cases for children in custody.

Lutheran is headquartered in St. Louis County, with regional offices in Columbia, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Joplin and Kansas City. The statewide agency has 10 full-time case managers in the St. Louis region and five part-time positions. Thomas said there’s not only a need to fill positions, but there’s a glaring need for kids to be placed

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