It’s been over six months since two in-home child care providers closed in Highmore. The town of over 600 in central South Dakota has a few other in-home providers, but all are full and have waitlists months out.

If a family wanted to move to the town — about an hour’s drive east of Pierre — there wouldn’t be any child care for them, said Beth Simonson, a board member of Hyde County Child Development.

Parents are driving their children up to 50 miles away to towns including Miller, Onida or Pierre to find child care, Simonson said. Some families have to split their children between child care in Highmore and another town.

Hyde County, where Highmore is located, has the fastest declining population in the state, according to census data.

“Why would young people want to move here if there isn’t quality child care?” Simonson said. “It’s one of the key elements of keeping people and growing our community, which we’ve been struggling with thriving. We need to attract those young families. We can’t exist without child care.”

The city of Highmore is one of 13 communities awarded a child care grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development last month. In total, the grants, using federal funds, are infusing over $3.7 million into helping communities find collaborative, innovative solutions to address child care needs across South Dakota.

The initiatives range from improving the child care workforce, to creating after school programs, to supporting existing providers with continued education. In Highmore, the community plans to use the $300,000 awarded by the state to create a community child care center.

“I don’t know what other solution there was,” Simonson said. “It’s been six months and nobody has really stepped up otherwise.”

The Hyde County Child Development board’s plan is to lease and renovate a vacant building — most recently a flower shop — as a child care center to serve up to 39 infants and toddlers. Highmore plans to eventually build a new child care center on vacant land owned by Venture Communications. That piece of land will house the center’s playground until then.

The state’s focus for the grants was fostering community collaboration between local governments, child care providers, businesses and schools, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Simonson expected a handful of people to help in the planning and implementation of the grant, but nearly 50 people came out to support the effort.

Based on a survey of over 100 Highmore residents, nearly 30% expect they’ll need child care in the next three years. Another 45% currently need child care during the summer months when school is out, since there isn’t an afterschool program for school-aged children in Highmore.

“They want this for their families and for Highmore’s future,” Simonson said. “That’s what this is really about. We need this for the future of our community.”

In Redfield, the economic development group Grow Spink (a reference to Spink County) plans a similar community child care center using the $245,000 it was awarded from the state. It will be open to the entire county, and will serve as an “umbrella organization” for other child care providers in the county. There are 12 in-home providers in Spink County and one community child care center in Doland — all are full with waitlists.

Having a central child care agency or office will help the county organize, award smaller grants for other child care providers to make renovations and improvements, and set up a substitute teacher system. In applying for the state grants, the economic development group realized one of the major challenges for providers is staffing.

“My own kids go to a provider in Redfield that has a waitlist out to 2026,” said Grow Spink Executive Director Gianna Schieffer. “I know of three or four providers who want to retire but don’t have the heart to close because their families have nowhere to go. They’re hoping there’ll be a solution sooner rather than later.”

Schieffer added she’s starting to see families move out of Redfield or pass up “good paying jobs” because of a lack of child care options. With 30% of the county population nearing or within child bearing age, it’s important for the growth of the county, she added.

Both Redfield and Highmore plan to fundraise more to reach their goals beyond the awarded grants.