Child care in Michigan

Research on Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) shows that kids who have a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences as compared to children who do not attend a high-quality preschool program. They also have a greater likelihood of success in many areas throughout life, research shows.

Democrats say change would benefit working-class candidates. Republicans question ‘carve out’ for politicians.

Child care providers who attended Monday’s rally in Detroit say they don’t receive enough funding to pay their staff and themselves adequate salaries.

State Superintendent Michael Rice urges the Michigan Legislature to quickly fund a full-time state preschool program, more tutors, free lunches and improve school buildings.

A classroom at half capacity in Detroit would have lost $74,000 in funding this year. So the provider shut it down.

From free school lunches and community college to water line improvements and subsidized field trips to Michigan’s state parks, the Democrat outlines her wish list. It could look very different once it’s approved.

In her Wednesday budget presentation, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will propose new spending to expand preschool eligibility, hire more teachers and boost transportation funding to help 4-year-olds attend.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to expand the state’s free preschool program to all 4-year-olds, regardless of income. An MSU researcher who studies the Great Start Readiness Program explains what makes it work.

Universal pre-K is good for kids and the economy. But it’s expensive and the state faces several hurdles, including teacher shortages and a lack of transportation options for the 4-year-olds.

There are far more so-called 'childcare deserts' than officials feared. The consequences could be vast.

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.

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.

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.

The state plans to invest in child care buildings, educator training, and startup grants using federal COVID-19 aid.

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.

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.

Child care creates long-term public good that is too often subsidized by those who can least afford it: families and care providers.

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.

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.

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.