SOUTH DAKOTA – April is Financial Literacy Month and anti-poverty offices in South Dakota are doing their best to factor in more of this education for clients working themselves out of hardships.

Community Action Agencies assist low-income households in areas like energy costs, Head Start and housing stability.

Eric Kunzweiler, CEO of the Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership, which covers more than a dozen counties in east-central South Dakota, said helping people understand key aspects of handling their finances often comes up when case managers work with housing applicants. A body of research shows systemic barriers keep this information out of reach for many and Kunzweiler noted they see it often.

“They do a pretest and a posttest, and usually when they come in and do a pretest on financial literacy, they score quite low,” Kunzweiler observed. “But by the time they go through this class, it’s really eye-opening that they’re in the upper nineties to 100%.”

Not only does the progress help ensure they will find a lease, Kunzweiler added successful enrollees have an easier path toward homeownership. He noted local partners like Sioux Empire Housing Partnership play a role in maintaining financial literacy options. Inter-Lakes Community Action and other offices around South Dakota just applied for a grant in hopes of taking this money education statewide, including an online portal.

Kunzweiler emphasized the hard work put in by clients and case managers reveals a desire to lift low-income households out of poverty long term.

“When people think of Community Action programs, sometimes they think of it maybe as a handout, but we do not,” Kunzweiler stressed. “It’s a hand up, not a handout.”

Kunzweiler sees hope with financial literacy becoming more of a priority in K-12 education. South Dakota updated its standards in 2022 but still faces pressure to join nearly 30 other states which mandate taking the course in order to graduate from high school.