South Dakota Juvenile Incarceration Rate Triples National Average

Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2008

New data indicates that South Dakota's reform school incarceration rate is triple the national rate.

Information from the Kids Count project shows that 373 kids per 100,000 in South Dakota were in state custody in 2006. The national average was 125.

A South Dakota Corrections Department official was not surprised by the state's high rate of juvenile incarceration.

Doug Herrmann says there is no single reason for it, but he says it's being addressed in part by increased emphasis on community-based services and local treatment options for troubled youngsters.