Governor Kristi Noem chose impeachment day as a convenient time to release unpleasant news from her Corrections Department. Last August, after Noem’s headline-grabbing purge of prison leadership, the state hired California prison consulting company CGL for $166,410 to prepare a report on South Dakota’s troubled prison system. That report was due in December. The Governor’s Office finally released a copy of the report to the Argus Leader yesterday.
Joe Sneve read the report and didn’t find much new. He did find recommendations that Corrections work to reduce perceptions of favoritism and nepotism and address low pay before it runs out of workers:
“Minimize perceptions of favoritism and nepotism, consider such strategies as continuing to try to routinely check in with all staff members, communicating with staff members at all levels and across divisions, demonstrating transparency in decision making, seeking input from diverse groups of staff members, ensuring that performance is measured based on objective criteria, etc,” reads recommendation 38 of 84.
The report also states lagging wages are leading to unsustainable worker retention levels. For instance, during a six month period, “separations outpaced new hires” by a two-to-one margin [Joe Sneve, “Gov. Kristi Noem, DOC Release Report That Followed Probe into Nepotism, Sexual Harassment Allegations,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2022.04.12].
Stefany Bawek might like a copy of that report. Bawek used to direct Pheasantland Industries, the Corrections Department’s socialist prison-labor program. Noem fired Bawek last summer; Bawek claims that firing happened because she reported sexual harassment in Corrections. Bawek is suing Corrections in federal court for retaliation and sex discrimination.
Meanwhile, the Governor’s new Corrections Secretary, Kellie Wasko, assures the public she is going after rats in the pen, although in her mostly vacuous interview with Sneve, she seems inclined to stick with referring to concerns about sexual harassment, discrimination, and favoritism in Corrections as perception:
Sneve: An independent review of DOC workplace environment, culture and morale was done by the governor’s office last year after sexual misconduct and nepotism allegations at the Sioux Falls prism surfaced in the news. Are those issues unique to the South Dakota DOC or are they prevalent across the industry at large?
Wasko:I don’t think it’s unique to South Dakota, especially the type of complaints. It’s one thing to say it’s a state, community or a company or a place of employment. When you talk about nepotism, there are variable levels of nepotism.
Before I got here, I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the scenarios or situations, but I’ve been able to determine from talking to staff that they have some valid examples. The way they told the story to me — their truth — I can see how they came away feeling the way they did.
The bottom line is — and this is something I keep telling my team — their perception is their reality. And it’s our job to look at their perception [Joe Sneve, “Q&A: Gov. Kristi Noem’s New Corrections Secretary Talks Vision for South Dakota’s Prison System,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2022.04.12].
Perhaps Bawek’s lawsuit will help identify the extent to which those perceptions are based on reality.
Update 2022.04.14 08:51 CDT: KELO-TV’s Rae Yost posts the full report online.
Oh, the reality is that the perception is 100% accurate. But they’re not going to admit that. There is sexual harassment, and there is nepotism. And some people should have been fired back when Young was, but weren’t. God only knows why.
“… there are variable levels of nepotism.”
Huh ?? Are there various levels of pregnancy ??
Kristi knows all about it.