{"id":40736,"date":"2026-08-12T11:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40736"},"modified":"2026-08-12T11:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:46:38","slug":"foster-families-question-taking-placements-after-daycare-payment-shifts-dss-pledges-full-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40736","title":{"rendered":"Foster families question taking placements after daycare payment shifts; DSS pledges full coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) &#8211; Recent shifts in South Dakota\u2019s Child Care Assistance program have left some local foster families questioning whether they can afford to take in additional children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The concern stems from a recent change in how the state calculates and pays for child care, moving the payment structure from an hourly rate to a weekly one. The restructuring caused some foster parents to worry they would be left paying up to $500 out of pocket per month to cover the remaining balance on childcare expenses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">For foster parents like Kaye Sjaarda, the financial strain is a heavy burden on what many consider a calling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019re making a difference in kids\u2019 lives, and we\u2019re getting paid $22.85 a day to do that,\u201d Sjaarda said. \u201cFoster parents are not in this to make money. We\u2019re in this because we love kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Sjaarda has invested heavily in the children she welcomes into her home, supporting them through trauma and behavioral challenges. However, the prospect of absorbing unpaid childcare costs made her hesitate to expand her household.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cThe thought that child care may not be fully paid for, and that being our responsibility\u2014yeah, I would definitely think twice about taking in another person\u2019s child and caring for them,\u201d Sjaarda said. \u201cAnd we need to be supported as well. And so that is why I\u2019m passionate about speaking out and just asking Child Care Assistance to clearly communicate with us how that is going to be taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">In response to these concerns, South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) Secretary Matt Althoff clarified that the state\u2019s support structure remains unchanged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cChanges to the Child Care Assistance program, new methodology and new rates, have no impact on DSS\u2019s ongoing support given to foster care families,\u201d Althoff said in a statement. \u201cDSS continues in its policy to pay any remaining costs associated with child care for youth in foster care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Althoff\u2019s commitment indicates that child care facilities still have the authorization to bill any remaining balances directly to Child Protective Services (CPS), maintaining the practice used before the weekly rate change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">To resolve confusion and address communication gaps, Althoff plans to brief staff across both affected DSS departments so caseworkers are fully prepared to answer questions from foster families.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">For foster parents like Sjaarda, clear answers are vital to keeping children safe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cI really want to see kids supported. I want to see them safe, know that they are loved,\u201d Sjaarda said. \u201cAnd having that done by strong foster parents who are well supported is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">State officials added that the program changes align with updated federal guidelines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><i>Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) &#8211; Recent shifts in South Dakota\u2019s Child Care Assistance program have left some local foster families questioning whether they can afford to take in additional children. The concern stems from a recent change in how the state calculates and pays for child care, moving the payment structure from an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/gray-ksfy-prod.gtv-cdn.com\/resizer\/v2\/S2EWINRSGNELLP6J3YXNA33AIY.jpg?auth=96c7e80e94517e84987f24e539865eb520cba7fd347d5388252abf283efadf09&width=1200&height=600&smart=true","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}