Access to affordable, quality child care is a key component to getting more Michigan residents back to work. A number of important policy initiatives make that possible, a group of speakers said today following an event where they heard from hundreds of Michigan families.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Sen. Mallory McMorrow (Oakland County) and Eboni Taylor, Michigan executive director of Mothering Justice, spoke during the MI Child Care is Key — an Economic Recovery tele-townhall hosted by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) last Thursday evening.
The tele-townhall followed a survey from Prosperity Michigan that found two-thirds of parents say child care is not at all affordable or only affordable with major tradeoffs in their budgets, like cutting back on food or health care. The survey was conducted throughout April in partnership with ParentsTogether, a national parent-led organization.
“Access to quality affordable child care is crucial to the well-being of kids and parents, and it is absolutely necessary for our economy to recover and thrive. Employers need talent, and working families need accessible, safe child care options in their communities.” Gilchrist said. “Earlier this year, our administration presented a budget that makes a generational investment in child care and would help 150,000 additional Michigan families access this critical infrastructure at?low or no cost.?Getting this passed is key to getting more parents back to work and helping our state?recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and grow in the future.”
Michigan has one of the strictest family income limits in the country to qualify for a child care subsidy and a family of four can earn no more than $39,300 annually. Whitmer presented a budget proposal which would increase income eligibility requirements for child care assistance.
“Parents across our state—particularly women—were forced to weigh their options during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic exposed and made worse issues that have long been tenuous for working parents,” McMorrow, D-Royal Oak said. “Many have had to work extra hours just to pay for child care, while others have completely left the workforce in order to stay home and care for their children. As we come out of this pandemic, we have to ensure parents no longer have to make this choice.”
For several parts of the state, child care options are few and far between.
“Child care deserts exist in many of our urban and rural communities,” Taylor said. “Paying child care workers a living wage so there are more facilities open to parents is critical to providing some stability for our Michigan families.”
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