Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, on the state Senate floor during the 2024 legislative session. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
One of the first pieces in the long-term effort to address South Dakota’s child care needs cleared its first hurdle Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre.
A bill that would require the state to study the cost of child care across South Dakota was unanimously approved by the Senate State Affairs Committee and will head to the Joint Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
The study required by the bill would include the cost of keeping and retaining workers alongside the impacts of inflation, population growth and business growth on child care providers. The study would also require the department to develop a cost estimation model for the state’s child care assistance program. The bill includes $250,000 to fund the study.
State lawmaker seeks study of child care costs and unused subsidies
Prime sponsor Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, leads the Brookings Economic Development Corporation and sees child care primarily as a workforce and economic development problem.