Apple Tree Children’s Centers plans to close all four of its Sioux Falls locations in less than one month. Parents were notified late today that the centers will close as of Jan. 11.
One message sent to parents read:
“We are thankful and blessed by the amazing caregivers, managers and support staff that have worked so hard. We want to thank you for entrusting us with the care of your children over the years. We will do our best to keep staff until the end but may become short staffed.”
Official notice from owner Randall Stewart will be received tomorrow, it said.
For full disclosure I worked for the Stewart family over 20 years ago. I remember having a couple of convos with Randall (Randy) Stewart about Apple Tree. I think his parents kept it as a labor of love and not for profits.
It’s unfortunate they are only giving parents a 30 day notice, my guess is they got an offer on the building and said SOLD.
Trust me, my eyes glaze over when people start talking about this topic. I chose to NOT have children early in my life, and I have never regretted it. Listening to my friends talk about their kids and all the BS they have to put up with childcare, school and activities, makes me even more happy I chose not to reproduce.
Having children is a choice, but it is also a sacrifice.
I think we have always had a childcare issue in Sioux Falls, and it has only reared it’s head recently because of inflation. Just imagine living paycheck to paycheck and when all of your other expenses go up how do you cover childcare?
These issues have existed for years in SF;
• Little to no health inspections from the state
• Low wages
• Understaffed and under trained
What often baffles me is that parents want affordable childcare but they also want good care. You can’t have both. You know the old adage, you get what you pay for.
I think the supposed crisis will settle down over the next year when inflation drops.
My best advice to people considering having children in this economy; Wear a condom. It’s way cheaper then childcare.
Tax the rich. Don’t vote Republican. Then, you would be amazed at how the problem goes away.
This is kind of a big deal for the city and working parents in the city.
That person hired to (likely) a 6 figure administrative position by Church Lady (and the non-profit she represents) to solve all the child care dilemmas in the City gonna’ really have something to sink his/her teeth into now.
Childcare had been declining since the State and Local Government began over regulating the industry beginning in the early 1990’s. My mom ran a home daycare service alongside our neighbors, between us, we had 15-20 kids in our homes. They had it all planned very nicely, we would operate a 8-10 hour day fro 6 AM to 6 PM, take on all ages from Infants to teenagers. In the mornings, one would take ages 6 months to 3 year olds, while the other would take 4 year olds to 9 year olds, while teenagers were split evenly cause they could help take care of the younger ones. My mom and her friend would change positions at noon, this way, you did not spend all day with the younger ones, which worked perfectly. They also had the plan, that we would help in the role of education, for at least 2 hours a day, the kids would have to learn math, reading, and arts and crafts. It was fun back then. All we charged was like $60/wk no more than $300/mth. Today, the governemnt has made it a negative to promote home daycare, so they pushed everyone to these fancy commercial outfits, where your bound to wages and taxes. Home day cares should be the future, and by doing so, you put money in pockets of families ANd there is no ‘taxing powers; inside the home.
I would agree Mike. My aunt ran an in-home daycare for over 30 years before she retired. She did it by herself. She also told me there are tons of benefits (supplements) for in-home daycares, such as food assistance. You are correct, the big daycares have many issues.
Daycare should be free from day one and run by the school districts. #TaxTaupeville!
To have children takes one spouse with an above average income. Ideally, there should be a parent at home with younger than school age children. There’s no family. It gets destroyed from inferior income, inflation, and lack of government attention. The IRS deduction per child is $1k down from $3k. Why and why now? There’s more divorces and more unmarried mothers from low income situations. Even a middle income single parent can’t afford and properly manage a child. We wonder why there’s juvenile revolt and overwhelming petty theft. Children grow up angry and self sufficient. Juvy hall and jail are 3 squares and a cot they didn’t have.
The present solution is mom stays home with free social welfare. Dad comes around but sneaks out the back door when child services shows up. It’s not enough but a better quality of life than 40 hours a week at hard labor for minimum wage.
Wouldn’t a new government initiated balance work better. Children are future tax payers. If they grow up cared for and patriotic, the nation will thrive.
How about a multimillion TIF for someone to take over Appletree? There would have to be sophisticated accounting to prevent the usual syndicate corruption. However, even a white collar criminal should recognize the need and they should let this happen without usual fraud.
A TIF for Appletree is a great idea, but please explain to me how the developers will get a piece of the action, however. Because, I don’t think a slice of apple pie would be enough.
“‘Pie’?”…. “Did someone say pie?”….. “Okay, here you go”…..:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsAPNAx4XdY
What if we cut the budget on the $20 million bridge to The Land of Cherapa to say $10 million, then use the other $10 million to subsidize Appletree for a while?
No daycare for the kids, but we’s gots ourselves a $20 million bridge and a Bunker Ramp with ice bumper cars to go….. Yessiree, indeed!
Over the last couple of days I have been asking friends who are parents (in different income groups and different political perspectives – yes, I have conservative friends 🙂 what they think a solution is. I keep hearing the same thing, the only way it can work is if it is subsidized by taxpayers and is an effort by the public schools to step up with before and after school care, and Pre-K. I also agree with Mike Zitterich that we need to make it easier for in-home daycares to be licenced.
It’s my understanding that Noem in the past year told a Democratic legislator that she would never support public financing of child care in this state. Yet, Noem and her family have received how many millions of dollars from the government to keep their “ranch” going over the last 30 years? I’m sick and tired of conservative politicians who espouse a “capitalistic” attitude, but are socialists when it comes to their own lives and struggles.
Scott, thank you. I think the best way is to incentive more mothers to stay home, while the fathers work, this then leads to mothers organizing together to establish Home Daycare Associations within their neighborhoods, and even our districts. In fact, I believe we should establish Sioux Falls Childcare Association which can work with Familes in our neighborhoods promoting and supporting the Home Daycare model. By association, we can then ‘act’ as one group to apply for Federal or State Grants or both, to help provide the infrastructure, types of homes necessary to allow for Home Daycare Facilities. I think if 1-2, maybe 3 Mothers in your neighborhood got together to provide childcare 5 days a week, would benefit the community more so, than using local tax dollars to subsidize the industry. 2 or 3 moms working together as one neighorhood organizaiton call work to keep the program(s) safe, and free from bad behavior. I like the model my mom and her friend did in the 1980’s, and it worked so well, that others popped up in our nieghborhood…
Why can’t the father stay home and make the mother work?
This is one of the many reasons i don’t have kids nor will i ever.
I don’t have any kids that I know about, does that count?