State officials on Friday marked the completion of South Dakota’s newest corrections facility in Rapid City, a 102,750-square-foot complex built specifically for women that state leaders say will expand treatment and re-entry programming.
Facility designed around treatment and family services
Governor Larry Rhoden presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony that, in a symbolic turn, involved cutting razor wire to signal the facility’s readiness. The complex includes three housing units, each with a capacity of 96 beds, a dedicated drug rehabilitation wing, an education center and a 12-bed Mother-Infant program intended to keep incarcerated mothers and their newborns together.
Department of Corrections officials said they plan to begin moving offenders from the Pierre Minimum Center and the existing Women’s Prison in Pierre to the new Rapid City facility in August.
Officials emphasize addiction treatment and reentry
South Dakota’s corrections leadership framed the new prison as a therapeutic setting for women struggling with substance use. Department of Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb highlighted the scale of that need among women entering the system.
“Ninety-seven percent of female offenders enter prison with a substance use disorder assessment, and this new facility will strengthen our ability to provide treatment for those women,”
Lamb said the facility’s dedicated treatment areas and what he called a "therapeutic community" will offer counseling, life skills instruction and support aimed at reducing recidivism and helping women return to their families and communities.
- Treatment space: dedicated drug rehabilitation programs and therapeutic community model
- Education: on-site education center for programming and vocational training
- Family services: 12-bed Mother-Infant unit to support parental bonding and infant care
What the new prison contains
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Footprint | 102,750 square feet |
| Housing | Three units, 96 beds each |
| Special programs | Drug rehabilitation center; Fellowship Ministries; education center; 12-bed Mother-Infant building |
The move of inmates from Pierre to Rapid City will shift daily operations and staffing needs; DOC has not released a detailed timeline for staff transfers or the total personnel complement required to run the new campus. Local officials in Rapid City have said previously that new facilities bring both jobs and logistical demands for services such as transportation and healthcare coordination.
For advocates and service providers, the presence of on-site treatment and education is significant because it can alter the support available to women while incarcerated. The administration’s emphasis on therapeutic services aligns with broader corrections trends that prioritize treatment and reentry supports, particularly for women, who often enter the system with different treatment and family needs than men.
DOC representatives said they will provide further operational details, including transfer schedules and program rollout timetables, as August approaches.
