Simplified: A new partnership between the South Dakota Lions Foundation and the Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center is connecting kids with eyeglasses. It's also helping improve their confidence, as well as their overall attitude, JDC Director Jamie Gravett said.

Why it matters

  • When a kid is sent to JDC, they lose access to Medicaid funding, Gravett said. That means it falls to the county to fund medical care, and there isn't enough money to do more than the bare minimum.
"We just don't have a big enough budget to be able to cover things like glasses," Gravett said. "We’re just trying to meet their basic needs of keeping them healthy."
  • The Lions' KIDSIGHT screening program impacts tens of thousands of kids across the state each year in schools, childcare centers and more. It's been active for years in the Sioux Falls School District, but it wasn't until February that the screening began at JDC.
  • That partnership began in part when Sioux Falls City Councilor Jennifer Sigette, a Lions Foundation board member, toured JDC and thought to connect the county with the program. County Commissioner Jen Bleyenberg also helped make the connection possible.
    • Since February, Lions has conducted about 100 screenings and helped 15 kids get glasses.
"When a kid can't see, they're not learning as well, and every kid should have an opportunity to learn as much as they want," Sigette said. "I am confident that every single kid we get glasses for – it makes an impact on their life."

Tell me more

The screening process only takes a few seconds for each kid and then those who are identified as possibly needing glasses are given a voucher for a more comprehensive exam. The Lions Foundation funds all of it.

Gravett said he wasn't sure at first how the kids would respond to getting glasses, or if they would be willing to wear them.

  • But he said kids are proud to have their new glasses.
"You can just kind of see a lift in their mood," Gravett said. "They feel more positive. It's almost like they're afraid to ask for help, but then once they get it they see how much of a difference it makes."

The glasses have also helped kids do better in their schoolwork. And, if a kid is identified as needing glasses but happens to be released from incarceration before they get a chance to get them, they can take the Lions voucher with them to their families.

The improved attitudes, behaviors and schoolwork of JDC kids also illustrates the importance of meeting basic needs – something that can be challenging when kids coming to JDC lose access to Medicaid.

"We wish it wasn't that way," Gravett said. "A lot of times, problems that are causing kids to get in trouble on the outside is just meeting basic needs."

Sigette said she's also seen data showing kids who need glasses early in life and don't get them are more likely to get into trouble and end up in a place like JDC.

"Instead of focusing on the whiteboard, or whatever it is, you start acting up," Sigette said.

How can I help?

You can donate directly to the KIDSIGHT program through the South Dakota Lions Foundation website.