Pennington County and Rapid City take the next step with the IGNITE program. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office is standing up a work-release program with five business partners: G. J. Holsworth & Son, Scull Construction, Forest Products Distributors, Loyal Plumbing and potentially Liv Hospitality. These community-minded businesses will be working with offenders to offer jobs and skills training in areas with acute workforce shortages.
Launched in the spring of 2023, IGNITE stands for Individual Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education. It is an education and jobs skills training program for the incarcerated populations at the Pennington County Jail, Western South Dakota Juvenile Services Center and Care Campus.
This new program will give the judicial branch local sentencing options to allow those with initial sentences of 30 to 90 days in custody to keep jobs, build work skills, continue education and help entering the workforce. It will include work in and around the city and county buildings. Upon successful completion of their sentences, work program participants may be offered employment opportunities with these business partners.
“I am excited to launch this creative, new work program,” said Sheriff Brian Mueller. “We are working strategically to reduce our jail population, improve people’s lives and impact generational incarceration.”
Dan and Deb Holsworth are optimistic about finding employees during a difficult work shortage. “With Sheriff Mueller’s new IGNITE program, we hope to help future employees develop self-worth, become responsible and productive, and get away from bad past decisions,” said G.J. Holsworth & Son.
The City of Rapid City is partnering with the Sheriff’s Office to help fund the IGNITE program. “It is important we continue to seek accountability for those who break the law, while at the same time we recognize some individuals can use the opportunity while in custody to forge a new path as a productive and law-abiding member of our community,” said Mayor Jason Salamun. “IGNITE provides that opportunity by offering education, job skills training, personal growth and development.”
Long-time Pennington County Sheriff’s Office employee and most recent Training Manager Tony Verchio is moving to the Care Campus to directly oversee all the program changes, along with Clinical Director Deanna Nolan and Program Director Dave Oster. They are joined by former Correctional Officers Jeremy Danley and Sherin Harris who will manage the community IGNITE work program. IGNITE Coordinator Jessica Afrank continues to orchestrate new IGNITE programming at the Pennington County Jail.
