Costs for child care are outpacing the average family's earnings in Sioux Falls—leaving some parents to consider exiting the workforce altogether.
According to the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative, a family would need to make more than $160,000 a year to afford child care for one kid at current rates. Meanwhile, the median household income in the state's largest city is $66,761.
Kerri Tietgen is the CEO of EmBe, an organization that provides child care and other services in Sioux Falls. It's also one of the members of the Sioux Falls Child Care Collaborative. During a Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary meeting on Monday, Tietgen broke down the costs for a hypothetical dual-income family making a combined $90,000 a year. After accounting for average student loans, mortgages and other monthly bills, child care stretches budgets even for families with both parents working full time.
Tietgen said she often hears people wonder why mothers don't stay home with children to offset that cost. After running the same numbers, Tietgen says, "They're in the hole $500 a month to be the family we told them they could be."
Tietgen argues the business community can't afford to lose workers, either. For example, the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative reports women with children under the age of six make up about nine percent of the city's workforce.
The Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative released a 97-page report on the industry and its challenges earlier this summer. One of its suggestions is a Community Family Scholarship Fund.
Rana DeBoer, coordinator of the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative, told Rotarians 500 families could gain access to child care if the business community invested $2.5 million to cover some costs. She says maintaining access to child care can help keep parents in the workforce.
"Keep in mind, it's an everyone issue," DeBoer said. "This is no longer about those who can't afford, the underserved. It's about business success."
Note: South Dakota Public Broadcasting's Education Team is among the 36 organizations represented in the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative.
