South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem listens to Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire, unseen, during a tribal flags ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the state Capitol in Pierre, S.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)
A transgender advocacy group emerged as the clear winner after a legal battle with South Dakota’s Republican governor over a cancelled commitment to the organization.
The state of South Dakota has issued an apology letter and will pay $300,000 to a transgender advocacy group for abruptly canceling a Department of Health contract in 2022.
The Transformation Project is a non-profit organization that provides resources to the LGBTQ+ community that include social services, healthcare, and suicide prevention. The group entered into a contract with the State of South Dakota in September 2022 for the creation of a Community Health Worker Program; under the terms of that contract, $135,747.92 of a federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be used to fund the program, which would be housed at the group’s Sioux Falls headquarters. The grant was applied for and received by the advocacy group, and simply meant to be administered by the state health department; grant funds were explicitly earmarked to provide support for underserved communities.