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News
from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
For Immediate Release
Contact: Chip Weiskotten, 202-226-8553
Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449
HOUSE
PASSES FUNDING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CHILDREN’S SAFETY IN SOUTH DAKOTA
Includes
Herseth Sandlin Requests for Prairie View Prevention Services, Oglala
Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal Law Enforcement, and Children’s
Home Society
July 27,
2007, Washington, D.C. – U.S.
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today announced funding for a number
of South Dakota priorities as part of the Commerce, Justice and Science
appropriations bill. Rep. Herseth Sandlin specifically requested resources
included in the bill for meth use prevention programs at Prairie View
Prevention Services, the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, the
Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Sisseton Wahpeton
Oyate Department of Justice.
Rep. Herseth Sandlin
said, “I am proud to have secured these important resources, which will
help keep our communities and families safe. Whether it’s preventing
meth use, improving tribal justice systems or aiding victims of child
abuse in South Dakota, these are common sense, worthy priorities for
our state.”
A more detailed
description of the funded programs is below:
Children’s
Home Society of South Dakota - $100,000 for forensic interviewing
services for children alleged to be sexually or physically abused. Funds
will support forensic interviewing centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid
City, and be used to streamline interviewing processes.
Oglala Sioux
Tribe Department of Public Safety: $200,000 to support the
Oglala Sioux Tribe’s precinct based response plan. The Oglala Sioux
Tribe Department of Public Safety has developed a precinct based response
for providing services to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Funds support
the Department’s patrolling, community policing and specialized training
in the many communities located within Pine Ridge.
Prairie
View Prevention Services: $150,000 to continue methamphetamine
use prevention programs in South Dakota. The Methamphetamine Awareness
and Prevention Project (MAPP-SD) serves as a resource for the general
public and provides information and training to retailers, realtors,
property owners, educators, first responders, firefighters, law enforcement,
medical personnel, and State officials. Federal funding has been instrumental
in establishing and supporting this successful program. The MAPP-SD
program is currently one of the only projects of its type in the country,
focusing on raising awareness, continuing education and providing resources
to aid in the battle against meth. All across South Dakota, a network
of Methamphetamine Prevention Specialists have established local coalitions
in communities to help citizens, business and community leaders, law
enforcement and faith based organizations lead the charge against meth
in farmlands, small towns and cities across the state. In addition,
MAPP-SD continues to expand its work in Indian Country, assisting tribal
officials as they work to revise their legal codes to address drug endangered
children.
Sisseton
Wahpeton Oyate Department of Justice: $100,000 for the development
of long-term correctional strategies to decrease the incidence of repeat
offenses. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) has undertaken a comprehensive
effort to review the juvenile and adult detention needs on the Lake
Traverse Reservation. Since initiating the review in 2005, the SWO has
adopted a Community Justice and Rehabilitation Master Plan that encompasses
plans for detention units to meet tribal needs but complements them
with a variety of intervention programs. Some of the complementary programs
include drug and alcohol treatment and counseling, educational services,
and job placement services
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Congresswoman
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats
committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is
co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the
profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three
committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’
Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin
was appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence
and Global Warming.
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