In an effort to determine the best path forward for expanding rehabilitation services for people in the state corrections system, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has announced (Sept. 17, 2025) he will create a Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force.
The group will be established following Tuesday’s (Sept. 23, 2025) special legislative session where lawmakers are expected to pass a bill to pay for the building of a new men’s state prison in Sioux Falls. After Rhoden signs the bill into law, he will sign an Executive Order creating the task force.
Rhoden says South Dakota’s current men’s penitentiary is unsafe and lacks sufficient resources to prepare inmates for re-entry into society. He says the new prison will dramatically increase programming space, so the next task is to expand rehabilitative programming– which is where this task force comes in.
Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen will serve as the chairman of this task force. The group will assess the programming needs of the inmate population, understand options for faith-based and Native American-focused programs, study best practices for re-entry models, and make recommendations on how to best use the expanded space of the new facility.
Rhoden says the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force will include legislators from both chambers and both parties; a cross section of experts in behavioral health, addiction counseling, correctional rehabilitative services; and a tribal representative. It will begin its work this fall.
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