In approving the state’s education budget early Friday morning, the GOP legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also added investment in school safety measures and the teacher pension system, thanks to unexpectedly high state revenues this year.
Child care in Michigan
Stories about what happens to kids with care before kindergarten begins.
Posted inChildren & Families
New Michigan law cuts red tape for small, home-based child-care providers
The package, signed Thursday by Gov. Whitmer, contains a range of changes to child care law, from minor procedural fixes to major changes in the state’s method of supporting private providers.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan tried preschool for 3-year-olds, but will the idea survive?
Michigan officials launched the pilot, called Strong Beginnings, on the premise that high-quality education has profound benefits for all early learners, not just those who are a year away from kindergarten.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan to spend $100 million to open new child care programs, tackle pain points
The state plans to invest in child care buildings, educator training, and startup grants using federal COVID-19 aid.
Posted inTalent & Education
Struggling with child care in Michigan? Share your story.
A consortium of newsrooms led by the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock is requesting child care data through Michigan Freedom of Information requests and conducting a first-of-its-kind data analysis of child care records. They will have stories and data to share in the coming weeks.
Posted inChildren & Families
Report: Fraction of Michigan kids who qualify for child care subsidies use them
Roughly one-third of children in Michigan under age 5 qualified for child care subsidies, but only 5 percent received those credits. Meanwhile, an estimated 44 percent of Michiganders live in “child care deserts” — places with a lack of licensed child care providers.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | State must seize opportunity to fix our struggling child care system
Child care creates long-term public good that is too often subsidized by those who can least afford it: families and care providers.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Child care as economic development? You bet. $1.4B in aid coming to Michigan
The high cost of childcare and limited state aid has shrunk the workforce. In a rare area of bipartisan consensus, Democrats and Republicans are working to boost pay and subsidies.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan $70B budget deal hailed for ‘historic investment’ in child care
Reducing the costs of child care is a rare point of bipartisan agreement, and many daycares are on the brink of bankruptcy. The deal also gives big boosts to colleges, cities and environmental cleanups.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Child care workers are important. So why don’t we pay them more?
It is time we value those who touch and teach our children at arguably the most important point in their lifelong learning something consonant with their work and worth.