While the state Legislature and the Governor’s office have agreed to build a prison, many contend the job’s not finished. Conversations about rehabilitation inside the prison walls are now coming into focus. Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County leaders are starting the discussion.
“And they are moving forward with building a replacement for the dungeon-like, overcrowded Hill and also to deal with the overcrowding situation throughout the penitentiary system,” said Mike Milstead, the Minnehaha County Sheriff. He said with the $650 million vote in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to Gov. Larry Rhoden’s Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force.
“The chronic repeat offenders continue to plague us. Almost half of my jail population today are people who revictimized people in our society while they were on probation or parole," Milstead said. "That continues to be that revolving door and so it comes at a great expense.”
Milstead said while on probation, individuals are the responsibility of the state Department of Corrections. However, when they commit a new crime outside the penitentiary walls, the responsibility and cost lands with the county.
“We’re picking up the bill on 80 individuals today, parolees who have revictimized people out in our community,” Milstead said.
Milstead said that’s an even bigger reason why the state needs the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force. He added they have a lot of work ahead.
“Trying to make sure that they establish better programming in the prison, better reentry services, better case management, fix a broken parole system and also provide job skills training so when these individuals come out of the prison, which they will and oftentimes into Sioux Falls, that they have the skills and the training and the necessary connections to do better, to not be repeat offenders, to not be filling in the county jail and not revictimizing our citizens,” Milstead said.
The task force will explore five directives:
Evaluate programming and treatment needs for the inmate population in the new facility and identify opportunities for expansion…find out the needs of Native-American focused programming and faith-based programming…study re-entry models and best practices…and to ultimately make legislation recommendations.
Gov. Larry Rhoden hasn’t named specific individuals on the task force, but the membership makeup is public:
The task force is chaired by Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. It will include six current House of Representatives members, five current Senate members, one current or retired judge, two law enforcement members, one Indigenous representative, one behavioral or mental healthcare representative and a representative with correctional rehabilitative services experience.
The task force is allowed to extend through the entirety of 2026.
