A group of legislators has created a set of recommendations related to the state’s juvenile justice system. The South Dakota Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JJRI) Work Group submitted a list of policies for the upcoming legislative session that they believe will help solve the problems associated with the juvenile correction system. Jim Seward is the governor’s general counsel and served as chair for the work group.

Seward says the list of recommendations include placing juveniles who are not a threat to public safety into community based rehabilitation programs instead of residential corrections facilities.

He says the goal of community-based interventions is to lower the cost of the juvenile justice system without risking public safety and also decreasing the number of youth who return to the DOC after their first release. Judges will still have the option of placing high risk youth in residential facilities.

The work group was comprised of a large group of legislators, circuit court judges, DOC officials, and representatives from South Dakota schools and the Department of Social Services.