South Dakota Childcare Task Force report says funding is needed

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A new report from the South Dakota Childcare Task Force, along with additional research from the Hunt Institute, revealed the difficulties of finding and paying for childcare in South Dakota.

Over seventy percent of young children in South Dakota have all parents working. With weekly costs for a toddler being as much as $260 per week, affording childcare expenses can be difficult.

Adding to the burden is finding daycare for your children.

Senator Tim Reed believes a higher wage for childcare workers will allow centers to open existing rooms they already have.

“We need to be able to increase what we’re paying at the childcare assistance level and I think it’s going to have to increase in other levels too, but we need to start there,” Sen. Reed said.

There are communities that have demonstrated how working together can solve the problem. The focus of the future: Braided funding.

“Tri share is three entities that are helping to cover child care for the family. The parent has a part of it. The employer has part of it and then some other funding source has part of it and in most states that other funding is coming from the state. What’s really unique about the program in Rapid City is that it’s coming from philanthropic funds,” said South Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children executive director Janessa Bixel.

The Black Hills Area Community Foundation is funding a portion of a childcare program in Rapid City.

In Madison, TIF funding is helping the launch of a new childcare center. Could more state funding happen in South Dakota?

“And the budget cuts, obviously that makes some of the items that we want to do tougher to get done because they all do cost money. And so, I mean, we’re going to have to work on that, you know, and promote how important this is. We just. To talk through all of the possibilities of where we can fund this,” Sen. Reed said.

Reed said the lack of affordable childcare is costing South Dakota $329 million each year.

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