Black Hills Special Services

Black Hills Special Services, doing business as Career Learning Center, operates as a U.S. local government entity and school district headquartered in Sturgis, South Dakota, primarily serving as a prime recipient of federal grants (81% of awards) in workforce development, educational support, and social services rather than as a federal contractor. The entity does not hold federal contract vehicles and competes as a grant recipient without SBA set-aside designations.

Black Hills Special Services delivers case-management-based employment and training services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), administered by the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. Representative prime grant work includes four consecutive annual awards from ETA running from July 2022 through September 2026, each designed to provide individualized career services, training allowances, and supportive services to strengthen farmworker employment stability and economic self-sufficiency. The entity also received a $60,900 purchase order from the Bureau of Indian Education in September 2026 for professional development services in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, performing through June 2027. Beyond direct federal prime grants, Black Hills Special Services acts as a sub-recipient on a broad portfolio of state-pass-through and federal grants anchored by the South Dakota Department of Education, Department of Health, and Department of Labor & Regulation, delivering services including adult education (WIOA Title II), 21st Century Community Learning Centers, evidence-based nurse home visiting, assistive technology assistance, and school-based SEED (Strengthening Education and Economic Development) initiatives. The entity also subcontracts on Montana State University Billings' Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) grant serving SSDI and SSI beneficiaries across Montana and South Dakota.

Customer concentration spreads across multiple federal agencies, with the Department of Agriculture Forest Service Job Corps (17 awards, $205 thousand combined potential value), the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education divisions (15 awards), and the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (15 awards) accounting for 53% of the award count. The combined potential value across all 129 awards totals $958 thousand, but obligated dollars reach $65.5 million, reflecting that the source captures only recent awards while the obligated figure reflects cumulative performance. Activity has accelerated from two awards in 2022 to eleven in 2024, declining to four in 2026 year-to-date. One award with combined potential value of $61 thousand faces completion in the next twenty-four months. The entity works under three named indefinite delivery contracts — INICABQ9080022 (13 task orders, $116 thousand), AG67U4B080015 (4 task orders, $35 thousand), and VA33028P08004 (1 task order, $50 thousand) — primarily routing work through Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture vehicles. Award concentration by NAICS centers on Educational Support Services (25 awards) and Other Residential Care Facilities (16 awards), with PSC distribution reflecting education, training, and social rehabilitation support service delivery.