Early Learners South Dakota

Panelists for the SDPB Child Care Crisis Town Hall pose for a picture after the production in Sioux Falls on Oct. 3, 2023. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Momentum grows for more state child care funding

BY: - October 13, 2023

South Dakota doesn’t invest much state money in child care — unlike several of its counterparts across the country — and existing subsidies for child care are underutilized. Unless that changes, South Dakota will fall behind in its workforce and economic development, according to legislators, child care providers, and economic leaders who participated in a […]

(Getty Images)

Proposed child care licensing changes cut required training in half

BY: - January 17, 2023

Child care providers’ annual training requirements would be cut in half, based on proposed changes to child care licensing standards by the state Department of Social Services. Gov. Kristi Noem has made child care one of her leading priorities in her second term, addressing the issue in her State of the State speech earlier this […]

(Getty Images)

‘Workforce behind the workforce’: Businesses, organizations tackle child care in new program

BY: - November 14, 2022

The child care crisis is, above all else, a workforce crisis in South Dakota. Gov. Kristi Noem addressed it as such on the campaign trail, and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul Tenhaken says its one of the most common issues presented to him in recent years.  But it hasn’t been treated as a “crisis” by businesses […]