SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The lack of adequate, affordable childcare in Sioux Falls has been a topic of rising interest for the past several years. Along with a lack of availability, there has also been a notable lack of solutions.

Sioux Falls Thrive, through their Childcare Collaborative, is hoping they can find some.

“We’re looking at how can we make it affordable for parents to have their children in childcare,” said Michelle Erpenbach, President of Sioux Falls Thrive. “And how can we provide that feeling of a career that, when you work in childcare, that you’re not just a babysitter, that you are a professional, that this is a career that people can have for their entire lives and really make a difference in the community.”

In an attempt to figure out how to make these changes, the collaborative has hired a Community Initiative Coordinator who will work for six months on a variety of issues. The purpose of the six-month initiative is to build a sense of local urgency and better understanding of the childcare industry among employers and policymakers, and research best practices and compile possible solutions to the ongoing childcare crisis.

The other goal is to develop strategies to create policy recommendations for local and state government officials, and workforce development blueprints for childcare industry workers and employees with childcare needs.

Erpenbach says that she understands that changing the current system of childcare in South Dakota, or even in Sioux Falls, is a huge task.

The math doesn’t work,” Erpenbach said “It costs money to [have quality daycare]. And there are families in different and lower income brackets for whom it is impossible to pay for the level of the quality that you want. As a parent, it’s impossible to pay that, and at the same time, those providers — need to be able to pay a wage that will keep their staff members. So that the math doesn’t work — we have to figure out, how do we help those parents, how do we support those parents? Is it more flexible hours? Is it a stipend of some kind? Does childcare become part of the benefits package if I’m an employer? Do I provide that as part of a benefits package? There are so many pieces that we have to think about.”

This issue will not be fixed in six months. Erpenbach knows this, and she hopes that despite this fact, members of the community will be willing to take part. “That’s why we call it a collaborative. It’s gonna take everybody at the table to make it work,” she said.

At this point, the venture appears to be highly conceptual, with a primary focus on figuring out just what it is that a collaboration of this sort may be capable of doing.

The collaboration group will be holding a free event on Oct. 5, at EmBe in downtown Sioux Falls, where the entitative will be discussed, and the Coordinator will be announced. Erpenbach encourages everyone to come to the event, which will be held from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Those who plan to attend should register ahead of time.