State Prison offenders enrolled in welding program through SETC

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - A select group of state prison offenders will have an opportunity to go back to school before they are released back into the community.

The South Dakota Department of Corrections said twelve minimum-custody offenders in Sioux Falls have been enrolled in a semester-long welding program at Southeast Technical College.

Once they complete the program, the group will have the option to become certified welders.

The program is part of the Supportive Approach for Fostering Education and Reentry (SAFER) South Dakota reentry program launched by the DOC this year.

"Statistics show that an offender can be even more successful with the proper education, giving them the opportunity and a new outlook on life," said Scott Day, SAFER SD Program Manager. "Programs that can give them technical skills can give them an even greater opportunity for success."

This will be the fifth semester that state prison offenders have been approved for the class at Southeast Tech.

Past groups have had a graduation and job placement rate of 80 percent. The participants also attend a job fair at SETC and complete the PreP reentry programming offered by the DOC.

The DOC said they are exploring possible CTE programs for female offenders. Programs are currently offered in precision machining for male offenders at Mike Durfee State Prison. Offenders from the Rapid City Minimum Center are offered plumbing courses at Western Dakota Technical Collge.