Family-Aid Groups Announce Merger

Two major family-services organizations have announced plans to merge this fall, in an effort to cut costs and expand their reach to all 50 states.

Family Service America and the National Association of Homes and Services for Children will come together under a new, still-to-be-determined name.

Peter B. Goldberg, Family Service’s chief executive, will head the new organization. The charity will be based in Milwaukee, where Family Service America is now based, and it is expected to have an annual operating budget of more than $5-million. It will also have a public-policy office in Washington, where the childrens’ group is based.

Most of the money for the new group will come from Family Service America, which has a budget of just under $4-million. The association, which spends just over $1-million a year, brings to the deal its network of 330 charities that provide counseling and other aid to children and their families.