LSS Responds to False Statements on Federal Funding
A Message from the LSS of South Dakota President
 

Over the weekend, LSS of South Dakota became aware of tweets from prominent federal individuals falsely claiming that Lutheran organizations, including ours, have illegally received federal payments and engaged in money laundering. The tweets indicated an intention to defund our organization as a result. These accusations are completely baseless and inaccurate.

LSS of South Dakota is a nonprofit social ministry organization that has provided essential services to children, youth, and families across the state for over 100 years. Our work is carried out through legally awarded contracts and grants with local, state, and federal agencies that have entrusted us with these essential services. We are fully licensed by the state of South Dakota and accredited by the Council on Accreditation, maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards.

Our services are wide-ranging and include behavioral healthcare, financial counseling, mentoring, adoption and pregnancy counseling, early intervention and prevention programs, psychiatric residential treatment for youth, shelter care, alternatives to detention, disaster response, education, re-entry support, interpretation services, and refugee resettlement. Every day, we work to strengthen our community by serving the most vulnerable, guided by our core belief that God’s love calls us to serve.

We are deeply concerned by any effort to misrepresent our work and jeopardize the funding that enables us to fulfill our mission. Nonprofit organizations like LSS are critical to the well-being of communities across South Dakota. Defunding legal, government-awarded grants and contracts will have significant consequences, limiting our ability to provide vital services to those in need.

We urge our supporters to contact their Congressional representatives to voice their opposition to these unfounded claims and any efforts to disrupt our ability to serve our communities.

Thank you for standing with us.

Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen
LSS President/CEO