South Dakota state law: family child care home licensing

Per SDCL Chapter 26-6 (Child Welfare and Day Care Services), the South Dakota Department of Social Services Division of Child Care Services administers a tiered registration and licensure scheme for in-home child care. Definitions and tier thresholds: a 'family day care' provides care to up to 12 children in the provider's home (with limits on the number under age 6 including the provider's own children); a 'group family day care' serves a similar count with one additional qualified adult; 'day care centers' serve more children in non-residential or larger settings. Family day care homes are required to register with DSS under SDCL 26-6-14 and to comply with health, safety, supervision, and background-check requirements set out in SDCL Chapter 26-6 and the implementing Administrative Rules of South Dakota (ARSD Article 67:42). DSS administers fingerprint-based criminal-history checks and child-abuse registry checks for the provider and all adult household members. Local zoning is NOT preempted: South Dakota has not enacted a residential-use classification statute equivalent to Colorado HB21-1222 (which classifies in-home daycare as a permitted residential use statewide). Each South Dakota municipality and county may treat family child care as a permitted residential use (most jurisdictions), as a conditional or special use requiring a permit, or restrict by license count or child count under SDCL Chapter 11-4 (cities) or SDCL Chapter 11-2 (counties). Refer to both the DSS registration/license requirement under SDCL Chapter 26-6 and your local zoning code.

Operating a family day care or group family day care without required DSS registration or license is enforceable by DSS under SDCL Chapter 26-6 and may constitute a misdemeanor. Local zoning violations are enforced by the city or county. Background-check or supervision failures may result in license revocation and child-welfare investigation.