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.
Child care in Michigan
Stories about what happens to kids with care before kindergarten begins.
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.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan’s economy needs greater state support for childcare and preschool
It is time that the state met the childcare needs of working families and the business community while promoting stronger educational outcomes for the next generation of workers.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan families urgently need more child care investment
Despite receiving this federal funds for child care support months ago, lawmakers in Lansing have barely budged on getting these dollars to Michigan families and child care providers.
Posted inTalent & Education
Leftover child care money gives a boost to cash-strapped Michigan providers
The $105 million payout comes from federal funds that weren’t spent because of COVID.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion: Parents, employers and Michigan split cost of child care? You bet!
A pilot program offers an innovative way to help families afford child care, and employers help retain workers struggling with costs.