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State FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 16, 2022
Contact: Margaret J. Sumption,
Sumption & Wyland
(605) 336-0244
United Childcare and Preschool to End Services on September 30
The board of directors of United Childcare and Preschool (UCP) has voted to end all
service operations as of the close of business on September 30, 2022. The nonprofit corporation
will then proceed to an orderly process for formal dissolution.
UCP was founded in 1970 and has operated childcare services within the facilities and
memoranda of understanding with Asbury United Methodist and First United Methodist
Churches in Sioux Falls. Currently, approximately 60 children are served by UCP in the two
locations.
Parents, staff, other stakeholders, and the two churches where services have been
provided were informed today of the decision. Staff will continue to work with children and be
paid through the end of September, with retention pay and other incentives available for those
who choose to remain through the end of service provision. Management staff have been asked
to serve through October 31, 2022, to assist staff and parents and to perform other activities.
They, too, will be eligible for retention pay and other incentives to maintain employment
through the period.
“Continuity of care for our children in service and for our staff is of our utmost
consideration as we transition through this difficult time”, said Jim Gray, United Childcare and
Preschool, Inc. Board President. “Childcare is in a critical state in our community. We are
saddened that we are not able to see any other path forward at this time.”
Several factors weigh into the decision being made to curtail childcare services. The
ability to secure stable executive leadership for the childcare service is the most pressing. To
run a state-licensed center requires a credentialled professional. “With a program of this size,
seeking and securing a professional at a cost the organization can afford is a critical challenge”
says Gray. “We have a dedicated staff and the state of South Dakota, overseeing our licensing
compliance, has been very helpful in assuring we are in compliance, for now. It is just not
sustainable over time to have the staff leadership we need to assure continuity of care.”
The eleven-member staff has worked tirelessly to assure the services and supervision of
children is in continued compliance and meeting the needs of children. This has included the
engagement of dedicated volunteers who have become certified through background checks
and other requirements to make sure proper adult-child ratio coverage is assured. The inability
to secure, train, and retain personnel on an ongoing basis creates untenable safety and quality
assurance concerns, according to board members’ comments.
The size of the childcare program, and that it is split between two locations, add to the
challenges of staff, transportation, and coordination of providing care. “The children in our care
deserve the highest quality care and learning in a faith-centered structure,” says Gray. “We
cannot guarantee this quality and continuity, and this weighed heavily into making the decision,
now, not to move forward with the program.”
The timing of the announcement also was factor in making the decision to cease
operations. A large number of children served will be transitioning to kindergarten and other
educational settings in the fall which eliminates the concern to families of making transitions
during the school year. Families needing assistance to find care will be provided with support
by current United Childcare and Preschool leaders who will provide technical assistance to
secure options for care.
“Asbury United Methodist and First United Methodist Churches have opened their doors
to help this program of services throughout these many years.” said Gray. The decision for the
nonprofit organization of United Childcare and Preschool, Inc. was made fully independently as
an organization dedicated to the childcare mission. “The delivery of childcare services by the
organization is simply not of a scope and size to be sustainable under the current nonprofit
corporation model. We owe it to children and families to give them the best quality and
continuity of care. We are not able to meet that standard,” he reported.
Families currently receiving childcare services from United Childcare and Preschool
have also been encouraged to contact the Helpline Center at 211 to inquire about other
childcare options.
The UCP board has retained the Sioux Falls-based consulting firm of Sumption & Wyland
to coordinate the nonprofit dissolution process, which should take approximately six months
to complete.
6/9/2022 Our 2022/2023 Calendar is out.
Online payments are coming!
We have been working hard to get this set up and hope to have a much bigger announcement in the future.
2022-2023 Calendar
