LSSI recently was featured in the Spring 2025 issue of Metro Word, the magazine of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA. Below is the full article, printed with permission.
Federal Funding Cuts Create Uncertainty for LSSI, Other Human Service Organizations
Ongoing cuts to federal funding for human services have impacted nonprofit human service organizations nationwide, including reductions that have already impacted organizations like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) and other Lutheran service organizations. LSSI continues to monitor the effects of the cuts on the essential services the organization provides to residents across the state.
One of the largest, nonprofit statewide human services providers in Illinois, LSSI served 56,755 children, adults, and seniors last year, an 8% increase from the previous year. Services include foster care, mental health, alcohol and drug treatment, affordable senior housing, home care for older adults, residential programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and programs that help people impacted by incarceration. LSSI is the largest private provider of foster care in Illinois, serving 2,647 children in foster care last year.
LSSI’s primary sources of federal funding include Medicaid, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Title IV-E assistance (through the Social Security Act), critical support that enables LSSI to provide a wide range of programming. Medicaid supports medical care, assistance for people with disabilities, and prevention services including mental health and substance use treatment, to name a few. HUD funding allows LSSI to maintain 20 affordable senior apartment buildings across 16 communities in Illinois. Title IV-E supports foster care and adoption-related costs, including case management, food, clothing, and training.
“Medicaid reductions could take many forms, but all would likely have the same effect: forcing states to cut other services, reduce Medicaid coverage, or trim program reimbursement rates,” said Mark Stutrud, LSSI President and CEO. “States also could look toward raising taxes to cover the gap, but that seems like an unpopular scenario.” As of this writing, the most recent rounds of cuts were to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), which provides funding for behavioral health services.
LSSI is analyzing the cuts and the longer-term impact while working with human services advocacy partners on how the decreased funding could be mitigated. Uncertainty remains a great challenge.
“LSSI staff work with people every day who face uncertainty,” said Stutrud. “That is a critical part of our work–providing services even in stressful or unsure times because our clients live that daily. Even with the uncertainty about federal funding, our staff continue providing vital programs to the people we serve.”
The charitable donations that LSSI receives from churches, individuals, and private foundations supplement governmental funding and help enhance services. LSSI’s donors play a crucial role in helping stabilize its programs during turbulent times.
Despite these challenges, LSSI continues to fulfill its mission to bring healing, justice, and wholeness to people and communities.
The information in this article was current at the time of its publication, however, changes are ongoing. Lutheran Services in America (LSA) is the voice of Lutheran health and human services organizations in Washington, providing updates and advocacy opportunities related to the impact of funding cuts to its partner organizations. LSSI also will continue to provide periodic updates.
(Find the entire Spring 2025 magazine, including this article, at Metro Word.)
