The disconnect is often described as ideological.
A closer look at how policymakers themselves describe early childhood investment suggests something else is going on: childcare doesn’t fail because legislators don’t believe it matters — it fails because it sits in the wrong mental category.
Why it matters
A new survey of South Dakota lawmakers shows broad agreement that early childhood investments matter, but it also helps explain why childcare funding continues to stall at the Capitol.
While legislators across party lines support prenatal care, children’s health coverage, and early education, far fewer view childcare itself as a high-return public investment. As the 2026 legislative session begins, that gap in how lawmakers categorize childcare — as family support rather than workforce infrastructure or brain development policy — is likely to shape which proposals advance and which quietly die in committee.
What lawmakers agree on
A 2025 survey of South Dakota legislators, mayors, and county officials conducted by the University of South Dakota’s Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment found broad consensus on several points:
– Prenatal and maternal health care are essential to healthy brain development.
– Children’s health coverage delivers strong return on investment.
– Early experiences shape long-term outcomes.
– Chronic parental stress affects children’s development.
Source: Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (2025 report)
Where childcare falls apart
When asked to rank programs with the greatest return on investment, policymakers consistently prioritized health-related services. Childcare subsidies ranked near the bottom, selected by just 13 percent of respondents.
That gap matters. In Pierre, programs that are not seen as high-ROI rarely survive appropriations intact.
Childcare’s identity crisis
To many lawmakers:
– Health care equals brain development.
– Education equals long-term outcomes.
– Childcare equals family logistics.
That framing puts childcare at a disadvantage during budget negotiations.
What lawmakers say they need
Policymakers report missing:
– Clear explanations of funding sources.
– South Dakota-specific outcome data.
– Local case studies.
Without these, childcare proposals tend to stall quietly.
Related coverage: SDPB overview of the CPCM survey
Bottom line
Childcare doesn’t fail because lawmakers don’t care. It fails because it lives between systems. Until childcare is framed as both workforce infrastructure and early childhood development, it will remain underfunded.
