Public Hearings & Legal Notices

Department of Social Services
Notice of Public Hearing to Adopt Rules

A public hearing will be held in the Department of Social Services Building, Linden Conference Room C207, 1501 S Highline Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57110, on Monday, April 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. Central, to consider the adoption and amendment of proposed Administrative Rules of South Dakota numbered

§§ 67:14:32:01, 67:14:32:05.05, 67:14:32:08, 67:14:32:09, 67:14:32:10, 67:14:32:11.01, 67:14:32:30, 67:42:18:01 to 67:42:18:35, inclusive.

The effect of the rules will be to update adoption rules specific to kinship adoptions and to create a new foster licensure pathway for kinship foster homes.

The reason for adopting the proposed rules is to help support kinship families who provide care for kinship children by increasing available kinship placement resources. The kinship specific licensing standards aim to remove barriers to licensure to enable kinship families to receive the same level of financial support as non-relative licensed families receive and to expedite financial support for children placed with kin. The proposed rules also comply with the federal regulatory changes found in the federal Family First Prevention and Services Act to allow child protection services to leverage more access to federal Title IV-E funding for kinship foster children.

Persons interested in presenting amendments, data, opinions, and arguments for or against the proposed rules may:

1. Appear in-person at the hearing;
2. May attend telephonically by calling 1-605-679-7263 and using conference code 843 219 069#;
3. Mail them to Teresa Schulte, Administrative Rules C0202, Department of Social Services, 1501
   S Highline Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57110; or
4. Email them to DSSAdminRules@state.sd.us.

The deadline to submit any such written comments for consideration by the Department of Social Services is April 24, ten days after the date of the public hearing.

After the written comment period, the Department of Social Services will consider all written and oral comments it receives on the proposed rules. The Department of Social Services may modify or amend a proposed rule at that time to include or exclude matters that are described in this notice.

For Persons with Disabilities: This hearing will be located at a physically accessible place. Please contact the Department of Social Services at least 48 hours before the public hearing if you have special needs for which special arrangements can be made by calling (605) 674-5771.

Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained without charge from:

1. Contacting Teresa Schulte at Administrative Rules C0202, Department of Social Services, 1501 S Highline Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57110;
2. Visiting http://rules.sd.gov; or
   
3. Emailing a request to: DSSAdminRules@state.sd.us.