PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) – A statewide task force with orders from Gov. Larry Rhoden to revamp programming to reduce recidivism in the state prison system agreed on a series of recommendations Thursday. Thursday’s Correctional Task Force meeting was scheduled to be the penultimate gathering. The committee will meet once again to adopt a final report before it is officially dissolved on Jan. 1.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, a group that works with states and local governments to manage their prison and jail programs, evaluated data on South Dakota’s system. CSG’s Sara Friedman and David D’Amora presented their findings and recommendations to the task force. The changes to the state prison system would be far-reaching – touching on areas including education, job training, programming, parole, tribal relations and Department of Correction staffing, among others. The changes won’t come with the flip of a switch, Friedman said. “Making big shifts inside prison takes time – more time than we want,” she said.
Some of the recommendations that came out of previous meetings that started in April have already been put in place. The Department of Corrections created a Rehabilitation and Reentry Division, expanded work and training options, strengthened technical college partnerships, including a diesel tech program at Southeast Technical College, and created faith-based programing. “But” Friedman said, “you have a ways to go.”
South Dakota does have programs for inmates – including substance abuse, GED, parenting and a class preparing inmates about to be released for life outside the prison. But CSG’s analysis found that the programming wasn’t applied evenly. Inmates with five-year prison sentences wouldn’t begin to receive programming until after they had already been in prison for more than two years. Then, all of the programs are stacked at the end of the sentence.
CSG recommended that programming be sequenced so that inmates start with substance abuse treatment, GED or some other program they need at the start of their prison sentence. Once they complete one program, they move on to another.
South Dakota’s practice of lumping programing on the back end of prison sentences creates another problem: The majority of inmates get released after one year or less and don’t get as much access to services that could help them succeed. “As a state, you do tend to have shorter stays overall then what we see in other places,” D’Amora told the task force.
Ninety percent of the inmates released in 2025 served less than seven years, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar said. Many are released after just several months. D’Amora said the state should consider services for parolees in order to keep them from reoffending. The task force concluded its meeting by adopting 34 resolutions. Those will be rolled into the final report.
The report suggested a phased approach to bring program facilitators and behavioral health salaries up to market rate. That alone would cost nearly $822,000 a year. There would also be a need for more corrections officers and parole officers. Currently, 54 parole officers manage more than 3,150 parolees. Minnehaha County Jail Warden Mike Mattson, one of the task force members, was blunt. He gestured to DOC Secretary Nick Lamb and Lamb’s staff and said, “They know what they need. Give them what they need.”
The report also suggested $700,000 a year in transitional services to help released inmates integrate into society and $300,000 for temporary landlord and transportation assistance. Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, another task force member, said he appreciated seeing cost estimates. The lawmakers on the committee will have to sell the recommendations to their colleagues in the Legislature. “I need to believe in it,” the Sioux Falls Republican said.
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