Latest news with #HB1132
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
South Dakota cannot afford to ignore the child care crisis
(Photo by Lourdes Balduque, via Getty Images) Child care is not just a family issue. It is a business development issue. The ability of South Dakota families to access quality, affordable child care directly impacts workforce participation, economic productivity and long-term growth. As the CEO of the Economic Development Professionals of South Dakota, I see firsthand the challenges businesses face in attracting and retaining workers due to the child care crisis. Across the state, we have seen communities bring together business leaders, community stakeholders, child care providers and parents to work toward viable solutions. I have had the privilege to work on this issue over the past two years as a member of the Statewide Childcare Task Force, led by Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings. The task force worked tirelessly with businesses and individuals across the state. This effort yielded an in-depth report that led to the introduction of legislation this past session. One bill, HB 1132, passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by the governor. While we disagree with the governor's reasoning, we look forward to partnering with the administration in the future and will engage over the summer with all stakeholders. State House fails to override child care subsidy veto from governor Child care is an essential support system for families, allowing parents to pursue careers, education and financial stability while ensuring their children are cared for in a safe, enriching environment. Without access to reliable child care, families are forced to make difficult choices — many parents, particularly mothers, must scale back work hours or leave the workforce, straining household incomes and limiting career growth. This also places stress on extended family members who may step in to provide care, often at the cost of their own employment and well-being. For working families, child care is a pathway to financial independence. A lack of accessible child care can lead to lost wages, decreased career mobility and increased reliance on public assistance programs. Ensuring all families have access to affordable, high-quality child care strengthens our workforce and promotes economic resilience. Beyond the economic implications, high-quality, state-licensed child care environments provide significant benefits for children. Research shows that children who participate in structured early learning programs experience better cognitive, social and emotional outcomes. These programs provide young children with opportunities to develop critical thinking skills, build relationships and establish early literacy and numeracy foundations that prepare them for success. Quality child care environments also contribute to healthier emotional development by providing consistency, positive social interactions and nurturing relationships. Children in these programs learn essential skills such as problem-solving, communication and collaboration. Studies have demonstrated that children who receive early education are more likely to graduate from high school, pursue higher education and achieve higher earnings in adulthood. South Dakota is home to nearly 70,000 children age 5 and under, and 72% of them have all parents in the workforce, underscoring the need for reliable child care. Yet the state faces a 35% shortfall in licensed child care capacity, leaving thousands of families scrambling. This child care deficit costs the state an estimated $329 million annually in lost productivity and economic growth. Employers across the state recognize this as a barrier to workforce participation. This, in turn, contributes to labor shortages, increased turnover and reduced economic output. In an era where talent attraction is key to economic growth, South Dakota cannot afford to ignore the child care crisis. Child care is an essential part of the workforce infrastructure. Just as roads and broadband facilitate commerce, a strong child care system enables parents to work, employers to operate efficiently and communities to thrive. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has identified child care as a critical economic driver, emphasizing that industries across the board suffer when child care is unavailable or unaffordable. Just as roads and broadband facilitate commerce, a strong child care system enables parents to work, employers to operate efficiently and communities to thrive. Moreover, investments in early childhood yield significant returns. Studies show that every dollar spent on high-quality early childhood programs generates a return of $4 to $9 through improved educational outcomes, increased earnings and reduced social services costs. The Heckman Equation, a leading economic model on early childhood investment, demonstrates that early interventions lead to higher productivity and a more skilled workforce. The child care sector in South Dakota operates on a broken business model. The cost of providing quality care exceeds what many families can afford to pay, leading to chronic underfunding and high staff turnover. Early educators earn an average of $12.67 per hour, below the state's living wage of $19.58. This wage disparity makes it difficult to attract and retain qualified child care professionals, further exacerbating the shortage of available care. Additionally, nearly 44% of South Dakota's population resides in rural communities, where access to licensed child care is even more limited. Families in these areas often rely on informal care arrangements, which can be inconsistent and lack the developmental benefits of formal early childhood programs. South Dakota's future depends on strong families and a stable workforce, and neither of these work well without affordable and amazing child care. We can no longer afford to treat child care as a secondary issue. It is a fundamental component of economic development, workforce participation and long-term prosperity for families. While we were not successful in our legislative efforts this year, we will continue to search for legislative and non-legislative solutions to solve the child care crisis in South Dakota. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Dakota House fails to override child care subsidy veto from governor
South Dakota House Minority Leader Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls, speaks to members of the press on March 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. Healy sponsored a child care assistance bill that was vetoed by the governor. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) The South Dakota House of Representatives failed to override the first veto of Gov. Larry Rhoden's administration on Thursday morning at the Capitol in Pierre. Lawmakers in the House spent around half an hour debating the possibility of reviving House Bill 1132's attempt to expand child care subsidies for child care workers and overruling the governor's Wednesday veto. In the end, the vote to overturn the veto failed 27-43. Because of its failure in the House, there was no need for the Senate to consider it. Thursday was the final day of the annual legislative session, except for a day on March 31 to consider any further vetoes from Rhoden, who is still considering bills. HB 1132's backers took issue with Rhoden's characterization of the bill as an unfair expansion of a social safety net program to people in a specific field. With governor's veto, all three child care proposals stymied during 2025 legislative session Parents in South Dakota with incomes at 209% or less of the federal poverty level are eligible for child care tuition assistance. The bill vetoed on Wednesday would have bumped that eligibility figure up to 300% for full-time child care workers. Child care workers who can't afford their own child care bills, the reasoning goes, cannot stay on the job and watch the kids of parents who can't work without child care. The hope would be for South Dakota to keep more child care workers on the job. 'When child care workers leave the workforce, the crisis deepens,' said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. Opponents said they agreed with the governor. They didn't see the subsidy as fair to other families, worried about a permanent subsidy the state couldn't afford, and suggested that the bill would tip the scales in favor of one approach to child care. Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, argued that lawmakers can't simultaneously be conservative and supportive of subsidies for a specific type of worker. 'That's why I respect the governor. I think he's well-stated the answer,' Hughes said. 'Don't buy into this. Don't buy into this idea that we're going to start subsidizing a group of, God bless them, child care workers. It's just a bad precedent.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House rejects veto override of child care bill
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — An attempt to override Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden's first veto failed Thursday in the South Dakota House of Representatives. A reconsideration of House Bill 1132 was debated after being vetoed by Rhoden on Wednesday. The bill failed to get through the House by a vote of 27-43, needing more than 46 votes to override Rhoden's veto. KELOLAND penny collectors in a pinch following Trump order HB1132 would seek to provide expanded eligibility for child-care workers to receive government assistance for care of their own children. On Wednesday, Rhoden explained his decision in a letter to lawmakers. 'This bill would give child care workers preferential treatment, by allowing them to receive this aid at a higher income level,' his letter stated. 'This would be the first time in South Dakota that our state safety net programs would give enhanced benefits to people working in one type of job or occupation, and it would transform this program into a long-term workforce subsidy rather than what its focus should be: temporary support for families in need.' KELOLAND News is getting reaction from child care advocates and will have more coverage of the veto online and on-air. In news release Thursday, Democratic Rep. Erin Healy said the veto was a huge mistake that hurts South Dakota families. 'Parents are already struggling to find affordable daycare. But they are met with long waitlists and not enough spots. This bill would have helped to expand the child care workforce, but now, more parents—especially moms—will have to leave their jobs because they can't find care,' Healy said in an emailed statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With governor's veto, all three child care proposals stymied during 2025 legislative session
Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, testifies to the South Dakota Senate Local Government Committee on Jan. 22, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has vetoed a bill offering financial assistance to a broader swath of child care workers. Rhoden's Wednesday veto of House Bill 1132 closes the book, for now, on all three child care bills drawn up by a task force convened to study ways out of the state's affordability and access woes – and the resultant difficulties for workplace recruiters. Lawmakers could override Rhoden's action with a two-thirds vote of each chamber when they gather on March 31 to consider his vetoes. HB 1132 would open up child care tuition assistance to full-time child care workers if their household incomes are 300% of the federal poverty line or less. The subsidy is currently available to any households at 209% of the poverty level or below. Child care bills fail but give rise to optimism about study and task force In a letter to lawmakers explaining his veto, Rhoden said he didn't feel an expansion of the subsidy program was fair to all South Dakotans. 'This would be the first time in South Dakota that our state safety net programs would give enhanced benefits to people working one type of job or occupation,' the governor wrote. He also cited the lack of an appropriation to cover additional costs for what would have been an expanded program. Supporters had urged their fellow lawmakers to think less in terms of fairness to all occupations and more about the practical impact of this particular flavor of preferential treatment: More day care openings for parents all across the state. Laws similar to HB 1132 have been used in states like Kentucky and North Dakota to help child caregivers afford their own child care, thereby allowing them to stay at work and care for the children of others. 'We had hoped that our state could think about things differently,' said Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, who carried HB 1132 in the Senate and was co-lead of the task force. Kayla Klein, of the nonprofit group Early Learner South Dakota, called HB 1132 'a solution' that had proven its worth. 'I am disheartened by the decision, but want all of those providers, families and children out there to know that we will continue to search for solutions to make meaningful and impactful change,' Klein said Wednesday. The Senate's 20-14 passage of HB 1132 had stood as a bright spot for the advocates who've spent years looking for ways to open up more day care slots and hold the line on prices – sometimes high enough to make staying home with kids a wiser financial move for parents than working. Klein said after the Senate vote she was 'thrilled that the legislative body has taken the child care crisis and words from their constituents to heart.' 'This brings us one step closer to stabilizing the child care industry — the workforce behind the workforce,' Klein said at the time. Reed had carried that message on the Senate floor, and the message carried the day in spite of opposition that sounded much like Rhoden's reasoning for the veto. Sen. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton, argued that it's unfair to give a 'carve out' to day care workers and not workers in other fields. 'The one group that I think should be included in this are our teachers,' he said, referring to K-12 teachers. 'Why don't our teachers get a break on their child care?' Some lawmakers in the House had similar reservations. 'We in the Legislature, and most certainly those of us serving on appropriations, know full well that child care is not the only sector of our economy that is struggling to build and maintain the workforce,' Rep. Jack Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls, said on Feb. 19. The other planks of advocates' hoped-for child care platform had less success. On Feb. 20, the state Senate's budget committee voted 5-3 against pitching in more state dollars to the subsidy program. The subsidy bill would have upped payments to families who get child care assistance. In South Dakota, the federal grant funds that support the subsidy pay up to 75% of the market rate cost – a rate calculated biennially – for child care. The task force had hoped to bump that up to 90% of the market rate, getting closer to covering the cost of care. 'If we're going to provide assistance, we should do it at the market rate,' Reed told the Senate Appropriations Committee. There's a delicate dance to setting child care rates, according to Kerri Tietgen of EmBe, a nonprofit with two large centers in Sioux Falls. 'The true cost of child care continues to rise, driven by increasing wages for child care, teachers, higher food prices and the need to maintain a safe and enriching environment for children,' she said. 'Our organization continuously looks for ways to offset costs, but like many providers, we're stuck between rising expenses and the ceiling of affordable rates for families.' But South Dakota can't afford to spend more on child care subsidies, said Jason Simmons of the state Department of Social Services. The state can only get $32 million in federal money for the subsidy, Simmons said, and already has to chip in an $800,000 match to receive that. Because of the cap on federal dollars, the state would need to come up with $8.25 million to cover everyone who's eligible at the higher rate. Since the state can't afford to make up the difference, Simmons said, the subsidy change 'would greatly reduce the number of people that are eligible for the program.' South Dakota already does a better-than-average job with reimbursements, he said. Federal guidelines suggest that a state reimburse at 75% of the market rate, and South Dakota is one of just 17 states to 'reimburse that high.' 'South Dakota isn't often mentioned as one of the top states in the nation for reimbursement rates, and we are in this area,' Simmons said. Sen. Taffy Howard moved to defeat Reed's bill. The Rapid City Republican said she's suspicious of subsidies and questions whether the state ought to have a role in child care. 'We have to admit this is a welfare program, and our nation is broke,' Howard said. Before using his carve-outs argument on the Senate floor against HB 1132, Jensen voiced it during panel discussion of the proposal to extend child care help to graduate students, Senate Bill 118. 'I'm concerned that it's another carve out where we expect the entire state to pay for a few people's needs,' Jensen said Feb. 5, when the bill had a hearing with the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Lawmaker proposes bills to increase child care affordability, sustainability based on new report SB 118 aimed to adjust an existing 'carve-out' within the child care subsidy program. Undergraduate students who have children and fit income guidelines can access the subsidy under current law, regardless of how many hours they may work between classes. Income-eligible graduate students with kids can't, however, unless they work 80 hours or more a month. SB 118 would have changed that by opening the subsidy up to income-eligible grad students with a combined total of 80 monthly hours at work or in class. Sen. Sydney Davis, its prime sponsor, told the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 2 that the state ought to encourage grad students with kids to better themselves. People with master's degrees contribute to the state's economy and fill important roles that South Dakotans with less education cannot, she said. But Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff called SB 118 'a boutique tweak' to the law. He told the committee he understands that graduate student parents might have difficulties, but said they're also in a more privileged position than undergraduates. 'But we do say no, an awful lot, and that is an ongoing thing in our stewardship of the safety net,' Althoff said. 'We have set clear, bright lines.' The committee sided with Althoff and defeated SB 112 on a 5-3 vote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A look ahead to Day 37 of the 2025 legislative session
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Here's a look at some of the events scheduled at the state Capitol for Thursday, March 13, the 37th and final working day of the main run of the 38-day 2025 session of the South Dakota Legislature. House Government Operations and Audit at 8 a.m. CT in room 414 regarding the use and status of moneys that the state Department of Social Services received from HB 1093 from the 2024 legislative session. The Senate and the House of Representatives convene their general floor sessions at 10 a.m. CT. The shows two bills that set the 2026 state-government budget and adjusts the school tax levies. The shows one bill that revises the 2025 state-government budget. After each bill is considered and approved in the first chamber, it moves to the second chamber for consideration and final approval. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol on Monday, March 31, to consider any gubernatorial vetoes and any other unfinished business. So far Gov. Larry Rhoden has issued one veto: HB 1132, which would have expanded eligibility for child-care assistance to child-care providers with children. His letter can be read here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
