South Dakota Gov. Noem Terminates State Contract With Transgender Group, Citing Contractual Violations

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signs the "Protect Fairness in Women's Sports" bill at the state Capitol in Pierre, S.D., on Feb. 3, 2022. Stephen Groves/AP Photo

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota has moved to terminate a contract between her state’s Department of Health and a Sioux Falls-based transgender advocacy group, The Transformation Project, which has allegedly failed to meet a number of contractual obligations.

Ian Fury, Governor Noem’s chief of communications, told The Epoch Times in an email that, “The contract was signed without Governor Noem’s prior knowledge or approval.”

Noem’s office also put out a short announcement on Dec. 19 that Joan Adam, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health, had given notice of plans to retire. The announcement thanked Adam for having served in the state agency for two decades. The notice did not link the resignation with the controversy surrounding the state’s contract with the transgender group.

The Transformation Project’s website describes the organization’s mission as “to support and empower transgender individuals and their families while educating communities in SD and the surrounding region about gender identity and expression.”

Susan Williams, founder and executive director of the Transformation Project, has been billed as a “Christian trans activist.”

The group is due to host the “Midwest Gender Identity Summit” with Sanford Health, the country’s largest rural health care provider, set to take place on Jan. 13 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Noem’s office acknowledges that the governor never intended for her state’s Department of Health to enter into a contract with an organization promoting transgender ideology.

“South Dakota does not support this organization’s efforts, and state government should not be participating in them. We should not be dividing our youth with radical ideologies. We should treat every single individual equally as a human being,” Noem said in a statement, according to Fury’s email.

Fury added “The Transformation Project’s contract was also found to be out of compliance, including failing to submit required quarterly reports for two consecutive quarters.”

When pressed about how one of the biggest departments in the state government entered into such a contract without the governor’s knowledge or approval, Fury did not elaborate.

Contractual Issues

The Epoch Times also obtained a copy of a Dec. 16 letter (pdf) Lynne Valenti, deputy secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health, sent to Williams, setting forth a number of reasons for the termination of the contract between the department and the organization.

According to the letter, The Transformation Project failed to meet critical obligations under the contract including the formation of a community health care worker program with at least one certified worker on board; developing infrastructure for the program such as marketing and communication resources and a billing department; the sharing of data with which to evaluate the program; the provision of regular financial reports to the state; and other clerical and administrative functions.

The reasons set forth in the letter for the termination of the contract are all of this technical and legalistic nature, and nowhere does the letter mention any objections on the part of Noem or others in her administration to the “radical ideologies” referenced in the governor’s statement.

The Epoch Times has reached out to The Transformation Project for comment.