State loses $5.6M in federal funding to expand digital access, help with unemployment insurance
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The Trump administration recently terminated more than $5 million promised to South Dakota for expanded access to digital technology.
This story was originally published by the South Dakota Searchlight.
The Trump administration recently terminated more than $5 million promised to South Dakota for expanded access to digital technology. That increases the administration’s total federal funding cuts impacting South Dakota state government to $23.7 million, according to the Bureau of Finance and Management.
The $5 million was awarded to the state in January under the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. Digital equity initiatives increase physical access to high-speed internet by building infrastructure, teaching digital skills and ensuring access to digital devices.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration terminated the funding, part of $1.44 billion in funding nationwide, on May 9.
The state Department of Labor and Regulation was in the “early stages of implementing” its program, so “there will be no impact on the public,” according to an emailed statement. Proposed activities, according to a department presentation on digital access, included creating digital equity coalitions, improving access to workforce services, providing digital literacy training to inmates, and expanding public-use and loaner digital device offerings, among other ideas.
Digital access improves access to education, employment and health care, said state Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman in an emailed statement.
“South Dakota is a large, rural state. We have numerous avenues to continue improving digital access, even without these grants, and will continue moving forward to do so,” Hultman said.
Hultman added that her department is looking into offering a digital literacy foundational course. The department also offers Grow with Google certificates, to help people prepare for in-demand digital jobs, at no cost to the state.
The department lost an additional $658,000 recently, awarded in April 2023 under the federal Unemployment Insurance Integrity Grants program.
The state already spent one-quarter of the grant, which totaled $869,000, on a multi-factor authentication employer sign-in for the unemployment insurance portal. The department planned to use remaining funds to implement identification verification.
The Bureau of Finance and Management updates federal funding cuts impacting South Dakota state government on its website weekly.
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