Inmate recidivism funding falls short amid push for new prisons

Five-year contract would have provided training to give prisoners leadership skills

PIERRE – South Dakota lawmakers last year approved $650 million for a new men’s prison, in part because the current South Dakota State Penitentiary lacks programming space to reduce recidivism.

But not enough of them were willing to spend an additional $2.7 million Monday to provide five years of funding to the Department of Corrections to reduce recidivism across the state’s prison population, including the women’s prison in Pierre.