News broke on Thursday night that will have hundreds of families throughout the Sioux Empire scrambling to find daycare services for their children in the coming weeks.

Dakota News Now is reporting that Apple Tree Children's Centers will be closing their doors in less than a month.

The popular children's center notified its customer base late Thursday, (December 14) via letters that went out to families with children attending the various daycare facilities throughout the Sioux Falls area.

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In the letter that went out to the families, Dakota News Now reports the daycare cited staff shortages, inflation impacts, and occupancy costs that have contributed to financial losses too large to sustain as the primary reasons for the closure.

Apple Tree's letter to the families also thanked its caregivers, managers, and support staff who have worked for them for over forty years. They also thanked all of the families who have entrusted their precious children to them for care.

According to Dakota News Now, Apple Tree Children's Centers have four different Sioux Falls locations that help to provide daycare services for thousands of children ranging in age from infant to the 5th grade.

The Apple Tree preschool and daycare operation first started providing services to residents of the Sioux Empire in 1981. They plan to suspend all operations by no later than (January 12), 2024.

The childcare industry in Sioux Falls and throughout South Dakota is already costly and strained, and Thursday's news will only help to further complicate matters.

Source: Dakota News Now

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