SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A child care and preschool provider is stopping services, after serving the community for more than a decade.
On Monday, Lutheran Social Services announced to parents it would be closing child care and preschool services at Southern Hills, Hilltop and Here4Youth. The afterschool and summer programs for school-aged kids will not stop at those three locations.
“We have made the difficult decision to close our infant/toddler and preschool programs,” LSS President/CEO Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen said in a news release. “Despite our efforts to balance operational costs with affordable service rates for families, we find ourselves unable to sustain these programs financially.”
The last day for infant/toddler and preschool programs will be Aug. 16.
“We are disheartened that this will impact families and staff,” Kiesow-Knudsen said in a news release. “We have been in communication with other childcare providers in the community to help families find alternative care options and to connect our staff with other employment options. We also encourage childcare providers with available openings to contact us.”
According to the Department of Social Services child care website, the Southern Hills location had a state-licensed facility with a capacity for 255 slots.
In the past year, longtime child care provider Apple Tree closed three child care centers in Sioux Falls. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church stopped offering child care and in 2022, United Childcare and Preschool closed its child care services in Sioux Falls.
All cited the difficult business model for child care providers to make a profit while paying for staff without pricing out families.
