CSG tells South Dakota task force: unify oversight, fix staffing and EDC rules to expand evidence-based prison programming

Sarah Friedman, program director at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, told the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force that access to Department of Corrections programming has increased meaningfully in recent years but serious operational gaps remain. "Access to programming has grown meaningfully from 27 percent to 44 percent of people in prison over the last 3 years," Friedman said, noting the improvement is concentrated among people assessed at high or very high risk.

The CSG analysts said those gains have produced modest improvements in program outcomes — negative outcomes fell about five percentage points and successful completions rose roughly four points — but stressed that many people who most need risk-reduction programming still leave custody without completing a DOC-facilitated program. CSG reported that in 2025 only about 45 percent of people released completed at least one DOC program.

CSG senior advisor David DeMora sketched the assessmentframework and recommended four major administrative changes to address the problems. First, he said, South Dakota should establish a single Rehabilitation and Reentry division to unify leadership and accountability for programs now spread across custody, education and clinical services. "There needs to be quality assurance," DeMora said, urging a facilitator-development team and shared data standards so program fidelity can be measured and coaching provided where delivery is inconsistent.

Second, CSG urged building logical program pathways and a centralized placement system so placements are driven by risk and need instead of unstructured staff discretion. The presentation noted that parole violator short-stay populations can crowd out longer-stay people who need multi-stage programming, and recommended a dedicated parole-violator track to avoid that crowding.

Third, the analysts recommended investing in staffing and culture change: more program facilitators, more custody staff dedicated to transporting people to classes, and leadership positions for rehabilitation and quality assurance. DeMora said program improvements fail where there is not enough security staff to move people to classes or to prevent chronic operational disruptions.

Fourth, CSG advised empowering DOC to restructure institutional earned discharge credits (EDCs), which provide days off for work and program completion. CSG explained the current EDC structure and caps (work up to 180 days/year; programming up to 270 days/year) and recommended aligning credit awards with program "credit hours" to reduce last-minute changes to release dates and discourage incentives that pull people into programs that do not match assessed need.

CSG staff acknowledged limits in the statedata for causal claims: long-term recidivism effects require multi-year evaluation and more rigorous matching. Friedman said DOC already collects data on program participation and refusal, and CSG recommended linking program and recidivism data over time while using pre/post measures to manage near-term program quality. DeMora said CSG will deliver reentry findings in August and finalized recommendations in October, framed as legislative options for the 2027 session.

DOC officials who spoke during the session said they are already piloting some changes, including a centralized wait-list pilot and organizational planning for a rehabilitation division. DOC staff said they expect to post and hire a division director within about three months and to use the COMS upgrade (the departmentoffender-management system) to improve data continuity.

Why it matters: The CSG recommendations aim to translate improved access into reliable, evidence-based programming that reduces recidivism and operational disruptions. The task force will consider implementation steps and potential funding as it prepares recommendations for the fall.

What comes next: CSG and DOC said they will work together on implementation planning; CSGreentry assessment results are scheduled for August and final recommendations in October.