As South Dakota lawmakers grapple with how to effectively rehabilitate inmates in prison who are suffering with substance abuse, some are pointing to opioid settlement dollars as a possible aid.
At a legislative committee meeting analyzing how to lower the state’s recidivism rate, state legislators learned that since 2020, 90% of inmates assessed at intake were found to have a substance abuse disorder. In the group’s final meeting, they discussed the need to approach these individuals differently.
Chris Karr is Sen. President Pro Tempore. He said they’re talking a lot about how to treat people, but legislators must acknowledge the state is not doing what it needs to.
“And almost $40 million that we’re sitting on, and we’re waiting for bureaucrats to decide how to use them. And that’s been going on all summer. I’ve yet to hear a timeline or a plan. But I know that the attorney general threw out an idea working with our two largest cities and their mayors to get those dollars out into the communities for treatment,” Karr said. “And those dollars can be used not just for opioid treatment but for meth and other treatments as well of substance abuse. [You’ve] gotta be aware of that to know if we’re going to do something, let’s start doing it and let’s not wait for government to do something.”
There are competing ideas for what the funds should be used for.
Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove said she would like to see those funds used for some of the underserved areas in South Dakota closer to the tribes.
“I would love to see that opioid money go towards nonprofits that are willing to start those kinds of things up in the Central and the Western side of the state,” Grove said.
Grove says putting the funds in the center of the state would give wider access to people who don’t live close to the rehabilitative services in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
She added that funds could support workforce development that’s specific to South Dakota’s labor force. She says she believes that would set individuals who struggle with substance abuse on a path to success.
“Ranching, farming, I’m West River so I’m going to think about fire and rescue, I’m going to think about cleaning up the pine needles on the forest floors," Grove said. "People are going to learn skills and put their hands in the ground.”
The Department of Social Services, which is administering the settlement funds, is expecting $98.8 million through 2038. The department’s settlement dashboard shows about $11.7 million are uncommitted out of the $33 million received as of Sept. 3.
