Delinquent Child Bill Advances in SD Senate

SB67 revises the provisions of how a child declared delinquent by a Judge may be handled. SB67 essentially strikes major provisions in the juvenile justice reform bill passed into law two years ago.

Brown County State’s Attorney Chris White (R-SD) led a delegation of county prosecutors from across the state speaking on behalf of passage of SB67.

White says while the idea of keeping juveniles out of DOC custody was a good one, the reality is most counties “don’t have the resources” to deal effectively with repeat offenders.

Pennington County State’s Attorney Mark Vargo argued for the reform bill two years ago but now says things did not turn out as intended. He says the money saved by deferring juveniles from DOC custody was not ‘reinvested at the level needed’ back into county programs.

Representatives of both the State Department of Corrections and Department of Social Services argued against changing the law.

Kristi Bunkers, Director of Juvenile Services for South Dakota DOC told lawmakers passage of SB67 would, “ultimately end up treating kids more harmfully than adults.”

After more than an hour and a half of testimony from both sides, State Senator Brock Greenfield (R-Dist 02, Clark) urged passage of SB67 saying the original law, “proved to be a veritable disaster.”

SB67 cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-2 vote. The members agreed the bill should be kept off the consent calendar and receive debate on the floor of the full Senate.