LSSND<\/a> that the non-profit organization will be closing its doors and suspending programs, the department will begin work to review contracted services and determine how to sustain vital programs once provided by LSSND.<\/p>\n\u201cIn partnership with Lutheran Social Services, we\u2019ve improved the lives of thousands of North Dakotans,\u201d said Chris Jones, executive director of the department. \u201cIt\u2019s our goal now to coordinate the transition of LLSND programs and clients wherever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The full news release:<\/p>\n
FARGO, N.D. (Jan. 15, 2021) \u2014 <\/strong>Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota \u2014 a non-profit agency with predecessor organizations dating to 1919 \u2014 has suspended programs and issued layoffs as part of a controlled liquidation plan.<\/span><\/p>\nThe agency\u2019s Board of Directors, after accepting reports from staff leadership, external advisers and legal counsel, passed a resolution that confirms actions leading to a liquidation, including a bankruptcy filing, if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n The decision was driven in large part by continued struggles of Lutheran Social Services Housing, an affiliated program. LSS Housing, which started in 2009, impacted agency reserves and resulted in negative cash flow projections, according to Bob Otterson, who started Dec. 1, 2020, as the agency\u2019s president and chief executive officer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLSS Housing in recent years has been draining the reserves of the affiliated agency,\u201d Otterson said. \u201cThis financial pressure has hampered the ability of an essential, faith-based organization to serve its clients, specifically those in primary mission areas such as services to children, families, seniors and others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The action affects employment of 283 full-time and part-time staff and several long-term contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n LSS North Dakota leaders have informed employees about what they can expect in the coming days. Similarly, professionals in mental health and behavioral health programs are working with their clients on options for referrals and other services, Otterson said. The issues came to a head early this week, Otterson said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile developing a systematic exit from the housing market, agency leaders and external advisers determined over the past six weeks that the agency\u2019s financial health had been compromised to the point where a positive cash flow has become unachievable in the next six months,\u201d Otterson said.<\/span><\/p>\n The board\u2019s directors, in their deliberations, acknowledged that decisions made two, four, even 10 years ago, created the financial crisis that has forced a bankruptcy resolution, according to Murray Sagsveen, the board\u2019s chairman.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cObvious economic realities \u2014 such as the downturn in oil production and a global pandemic \u2014 have been factors in this outcome,\u201d Sagsveen said. \u201cHowever, the primary factors remain the LSS Housing business model, its accumulated debt, its inability to cover its expenses and other agency-level decisions made in previous years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe agency has lived up to its mission of bringing healing, help and hope to neighbors,\u201d Otterson said. \u201cUnfortunately some chronic financial issues have forced the actions of this very difficult day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n LSS Housing was created to address the need for affordable housing in communities across the state, particularly as demand was driving up housing costs in oil-producing areas of western North Dakota. Further study noted the housing needs of people on fixed incomes across the state. LSSND invested more about $16 million in cash and secured additional funding that provided safe sustaining housing for hundreds of families, seniors and individuals. LSS Housing owns and operates 22 properties in 14 communities and manages another 14 residential properties in 10 communities.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bismarck (CSi) The North Dakota Department of Human Services has partnered with Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota (LSSND) to provide programs to vulnerable populations for several decades. In response to Friday\u2019s announcement by LSSND that the non-profit organization will be closing its doors and suspending programs, the department will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":172211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=217075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217095,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217075\/revisions\/217095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/172211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=217075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=217075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=217075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Bismarck (CSi) The North Dakota Department of Human Services has partnered with Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota (LSSND) to provide programs to vulnerable populations for several decades.<\/p>\n