(Pierre, SD) — A new change to child care assistance in South Dakota is going to bring much needed support for providers and families. Grants for low-income families were attendance-based before, meaning child care centers could only receive reimbursement for the hours the child was in child care, rather than a full day. But now they are enrollment-based, and providers will receive full authorized payments regardless of temporary changes in child attendance. This is a more convenient and consistent providers to receive reimbursements from the state. It’s thanks to policy changes in the federal Child Care Assistance Program that the South Dakota Department of Social Services began implementing to start the new year.
