The South Dakota Department of Social Services in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
By: John Hult
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – A longtime South Dakota state employee from Spearfish was indicted this week in Lawrence County for allegedly falsifying child abuse reports.
Attorney General Marty Jackley, who announced the charges against 56-year-old Nova J. Collins in a Wednesday press release, said the charges were the first to be filed under a new state law that requires all state employees to disclose suspected “improper conduct” by their coworkers.
The legislation came in response to a crush of state employee criminal cases in 2024 across multiple state agencies. The most costly to taxpayers involved the misappropriation of $1.78 million by a former Department of Social Services employee.
The press release on Collins’ indictment says the charges are related to “falsifying reports related to a child abuse investigation,” but does not include further details on the alleged behavior.
Tony Mangan, spokesman for Jackley, said he could confirm that Collins was reported by a “fellow state employee.” Mangan said he couldn’t offer more details during an ongoing investigation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Collins referred to herself as a supervisor with the state of South Dakota on her LinkedIn profile. It says she’s worked for the state for 25 years. Jackley’s press release referred to Collins as a “former state employee.”
Collins’ indictment lists four felony charges related to forgery and falsified evidence, as well as a misdemeanor charge for falsification of public records by a public officer or employee. If convicted on all counts, she could be incarcerated for up to 15 years.
According to the indictment, each charge relates to Collins’ alleged falsification of a document called a DSS Initial Family Assessment and Child Safety Determination report for a minor child, identified only by initials, between January and June of this year.
Such a document is completed by a Department of Social Services employee following a report of abuse and neglect, according to the department website.
The indictment provides no further details, and it’s so far the only public court document filed in the case.
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