(The Center Square) – Efforts to expand the early child care workforce in Michigan will be receiving $30 million, outlines a report from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential.
“MiLEAP is continuing to collaborate with partners across the state to find ways to attract and retain high-quality child care professionals, expanding space for more children, and giving more options for Michigan’s families,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, director of MiLEAP.
The funding will be spent through September 2027 and will focus on a workforce project with the “goal of recruiting, training, and retaining professionals in all early learning settings.”
Currently, Michigan is one of the most-expensive states in the nation for early child care, leading some to label it a “crisis” for parents.
Many parents are opting out of it all together, with a recent report from the Committee for Economic Development finding there are 23% fewer children in paid child care throughout the state, decreasing from 400,807 in 2019 to 306,595 in 2022.
The same report found a significant decrease in the number of child care centers operating in the state.
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of child care centers decreased by 150, while the number of home-based child care businesses decreased by 1,613. As of 2022, that left 16,527 child care businesses open in Michigan.
The closure of child care centers means there are also fewer jobs in the industry, with just 33,714 “sole proprietors and wage and salaried employees” working in the industry in 2022.
With 4,799,000 total employment in Michigan, this means that child care workers make up just 0.7% of Michigan’s workforce.
Still MiLEAP argues in the report that “child care infrastructure investment should be at the top of the priority list” for lawmakers, while estimating that “insufficient child care availability” is costing Michigan $2.88 billion in lost economic activity each year.
One of the main programs the $30 million will be focused on is the widespread implementation of a wage pilot program.
First implemented at two facilities in 2024, the program looked at whether increased compensation would improve “staff retention, satisfaction, and service quality.”
MiLEAP reports the pilot brought “substantial positive change.”
“The majority of teaching staff at each child care business . . . cited the wage supplements as a primary reason for staying employed at the centers,” it said.
Based on its finding, MiLEAP recommended increased funding for Michigan’s “early childhood system” in future state budgets.
Part of that funding could then be used for “wage supplements” for the child care industry.
“Moving these recommendations to action will require bold actions by multi-sector partners, as we strive to bring competitive compensation resources to the child care industry in Michigan,” the report said. “Competitive compensation resources truly are the missing piece of the puzzle’ in Michigan’s early care and education investments, and are key to strengthening and improving the state’s child care infrastructure.”
Elyse Apel is a reporter for The Center Square covering Colorado and Michigan. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Elyse’s writing has been published in a wide variety of national publications from the Washington Examiner to The American Spectator and The Daily Wire.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
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