Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative names 2 coordinators to oversee initiative
The Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative named two women to be the new Child Care Initiative Coordinators, positions created to develop a strategy for easing the local childcare crisis.
The Childcare Collaborative was started in 2021, with the goal of "[improving] access to to quality childcare and educational programming for kids of all ages. It's facilitated by Sioux Falls Thrive, a nonprofit focused on supporting children and families with wrap-around services from the time a child is born to the time they finish high school.
New coordinators Rana DeBoer and Nicole Fluth will work full-time on the sixth-month initiative, which launched in October. Their roles will include building a sense of urgency, finding the best practices already in place and creating a toolkit of possible solutions for employers and government agencies to use.
Earlier:Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative to announce new coordinator in October
“[They’re] a two-person team chosen for their sense of collaboration and their deep understanding of workforce development, business government and the community of Sioux Falls,” EmBe CEO Kerri Tietgen said at an event Wednesday evening, where the two women were introduced at EmBe's downtown location.
At the event, dozens of people gathered to hear Mayor Paul TenHaken, and other leaders in the childcare industry, speak about the challenges facing childcare providers today and introduce the new initiative.
More:In-home daycare numbers in Sioux Falls continue to decline, worsening childcare crisis
One of the city’s core focuses is the workforce, which is directly affected by the childcare issue, TenHaken said,
“I would say that since the pandemic, the topic of childcare, and daycare has probably been one of the most talked about topics that hits my inbox,” he told the crowd. “And everyone wants a home run, but we have to be OK with singles.”
Those “singles” might include small steps, like using state dollars to increase worker pay, or lessening some of the requirements from the city, he said.
“The goal is to come up with singles that lead to real changes,” he added.
More:Study reveals $636M affordability gap for childcare in South Dakota and Sioux Falls
And that’s just what DeBoer and Fluth plan to do.
DeBoer is the Chief Vision Officer of VOLT Strategy and has more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, culture definition and execution, organizational development and workforce optimization. She previously served as the chief culture officer for the City of Sioux Falls and spent seven years as a corporate health services manager.
“To be someone that can be a part of that movement is incredible. I also think my years of experience in the city will be an advantage, and why would I not just do what I can to help?” DeBoer said. “We know there are answers. We just want to make the opportunities, use our intelligence, and put the tools together so we can find them.”
Her collaborative partner, Nicole Fluth, is a pediatric occupational therapist who started her own business providing services in local childcare centers and homes.
“I've had a front row seat in viewing the challenges faced by childcare providers and experiencing the stress that families are under,” she said. “Through these experiences, I felt called to play an active role in improving our childcare system due to the urgency of the problems faced by all sides involved.”
She added when the opportunity to apply alongside DeBoer came up, she thought, “the more the merrier.”
“I cannot do this alone, nor can we do this alone,” Fluth said. “We need a community to support us. We’re excited about this, and we're really excited about finding the solutions.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Childcare Collaborative names 2 women to oversee new care initiative
