Public input needed: Understanding the childcare landscape in the Black Hills

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Elevate Rapid City will be conducting a survey to gather feedback from the community about the childcare landscape in the Rapid City region. The survey is part of a needs assessment, which Elevate is doing through a grant from the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

The main objective of the survey is to understand the impact of childcare on the workforce. Elevate aims to identify the challenges faced by parents and employers concerning childcare access and explore the opportunities to address these challenges. The survey is open to in-home providers who are not registered with the state, and Elevate strongly encourages them to participate.

“We know the availability and affordability of childcare is impacting parents who want to be in the workforce just as it’s impacting businesses seeking employees,” said Laura Jones, Elevate Rapid City housing and community development manager. “We’re looking to quantify that data to help us explore solutions to address these challenges while also exploring how we can support childcare providers in our community.”

Survey data will be used to draft programs for the childcare shortage in the Black Hills.

The survey will be open until Feb. 25.