Sunshine? Not for thousands of needy families in S.D. Cuts to an assistance program should alarm all South Dakotans

Editor’s note: Author Muckey’s piece has some contextual relevance. It coincides with a just-released report from WalletHub that ranks South Dakota as the state with the fourth most at-risk youth in 2025 – John Tsitrian

On July 15, something happened in Pierre that should set off alarms for anyone who believes in good governance, family values, or fiscal responsibility. 

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program saw its benefits cut by 10%. This is in direct contradiction to what the Legislature approved earlier this year.

Make no mistake: this wasn’t a budget necessity. It was a deliberate decision to override legislative intent, mislead the public, and pass the buck onto the most vulnerable families in our state.

In South Dakota, TANF supports about 1,400 families — including nearly 2,500 children. It’s a temporary safety net for working families trying to find their footing.

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), South Dakota must contribute a maintenance of effort (MOE) of $8.54 million while the federal government contributes $21.2 million. In recent years, we exceeded that MOE and built up the TANF carryover fund — essentially a reserve account. As of June, that fund stood at $24.5 million.

During the 2025 legislative session, the Department of Social Services (DSS) proposed a fund swap — using $5.3 million in TANF carryover dollars to replace general funds. This move was described in budget briefs and by DSS officials as a swap, with explicit terms: “No reductions in benefits.”

When I questioned Secretary Matt Althoff, he acknowledged that DSS might review benefits at a later date — but no concrete plan was presented. Nothing was submitted to the committee suggesting anything but a fund swap.

Yet, in May, DSS initiated a rule to cut TANF benefits by 10%, citing the need to preserve carryover funds for software updates—the first time we had heard this. To add insult to injury for the poorest South Dakotans, DSS claimed they had “no money” to maintain benefits.

That’s false.

DSS shared during an Appropriations meeting that they had a $4 million surplus in behavioral health funding that it wanted to transfer to another agency. That isn’t to mention the recently announced $63 million surplus, bolstered by $22 million in unspent funding — and $106 million left unspent this last legislative session. Or the fact that $24 million in TANF carryover could be used for almost five years without replacement.

There was no fiscal crisis. There was no emergency. There was only a manufactured excuse and a “plan” produced out of thin air. Even as DSS pushed to reduce TANF benefits, they moved surplus funds out of their own department rather than using them to maintain services.

The administrative rules process is meant to interpret and implement legislative decisions — not rewrite them. According to SDCL 1-26-4.7, rules must align with the intent of the Legislature. In this case, the Legislature explicitly stated that TANF benefits should not be cut.

And yet, when the DSS rule reached the Rules Review Committee on July 15, my Republican colleagues ignored both our budget and the facts in front of them. They voted 4–2 to deem the rulemaking process complete, with all Republican members in favor.

They bought the lie that the Legislature cut TANF funding and that DSS had no choice but to reduce benefits. And they did so while making disparaging comments about the people who receive TANF benefits, saying things like “These folks need more humility” and “We need less entitlement.”

Are we going to tell a 5-year old in poverty that they need “more humility”?

That’s not fiscal conservatism. That’s cruelty combined with bad governance.

The party of “family values” and “fiscal discipline” showed its true colors in this process. The working poor are paying the price for political gamesmanship. As we debate the need to tackle recidivism, we just cut a lifeline to some of the folks most likely to be incarcerated down the line — children in poverty.

TANF is just one example of how not to govern. But more are coming unless South Dakotans raise their voices. Without your action, we’ll keep heading down this path of bad decisions and broken trust.

Contact your legislators. Tell them this was wrong. Remind them they work for you — and that we need to follow the laws we pass instead of letting lies govern us.

This isn’t just about TANF. It’s about what kind of government we want to be. One that protects its people — or one that passes the buck.

We get to decide.

Erik Muckey is a Democratic state representative representing District 15 (downtown and north-central Sioux Falls).

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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