Regional Child Care Planning:
Cross Sector Solutions to Accelerate Economic
Growth + Meet Family Needs
Need
A functioning child care system is required for Michigan's economy to thrive: insufficient child care results in an estimated $2.88 billion annual loss for Michigan's economy.1 Solving the child care crisis benefits everyone and the scope of the problem cannot be fixed by the child care sector alone. That means we must get unusual suspects to the table—not just child care business owners and parents, but Economic Development Organizations (EDOs), Chambers of Commerce, the workforce development agencies, elected leaders, and more.
1. Untapped Potential in Michigan: How Child Care Impacts Michigan's Workforce Productivity and the State Economy, 2023
Project
The purpose of the Regional Child Care Planning grants was to accelerate community-level efforts to address the child care crisis through cross-sector, Regional Coalitions and ultimately expand access to quality, affordable child care for working families in Michigan.
- 16 regional coalitions were funded across Michigan; 10 were led or co-led by Economic Development Organizations; all coalitions included parents of young children
- Coalitions spent 18-months assessing regional needs, understanding family needs and preferences for child care, convening and engaging community members, identifying root causes, and creating regional child care action plans
Results
There are now more organizations and people working on innovative child care solutions than ever before and previously siloed sectors are co-developing and implementing solutions to serve their communities
Child care needs were assessed through the engagement of thousands of parents to develop responsive action plans for every economic development region
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has included child care in their Redevelopment Ready Communities initiative
Local governmental policies have shifted across the state to reduce zoning or land use barriers for child care businesses
A state-wide summary of child care needs was developed
The Economic Power of Partnering with the Business Community
In Grand Rapids, Vibrant Futures led the charge in organizing a diverse coalition of organizations and people who are touched by and committed to improving the local child care system. They got together over a period of eighteen months and did some much-needed and previously neglected mapping of the problem and potential solutions. The magic was in the wide range of points of view in the room—from parents to providers, small business owners to government officials — and the shared desire to honor the return on investment that early childhood represents, along with the economic power that adequate quality child care unleashes in communities.
"By catalyzing new partnerships with the business community in Grand Rapids we were able to go beyond the early childhood choir. These unlikely connections are proving to be the gift that keeps on giving."
— Chana Edmond-Verley, CEO, Vibrant Futures
Municipalities Are Key to Removing Barriers for Child Care Employers
Battle Creek has long been a child care desert—a dynamic place full of potential, but hamstrung by a lack of high-quality child care that would allow working parents to fully contribute to a thriving local economy. Thanks to the collaboration and conversation sparked by the Fund, Pulse at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research worked with community members to identify that one of the key barriers to expanding the number of child care spots in Battle Creek was unnecessary bureaucracy. So often when zoning laws are put into place, as was the case here, the government officials writing the rules aren’t thinking about child care as a business; as such, the rules not only don’t work for them, but prevent them from even getting started. That all changed in May of 2023 when a dynamic, diverse group of stakeholders re-imagined the zoning code. Today, child care entrepreneurs in Battle Creek can provide child care in their own homes without jumping through the red tape– i.e. “special use permits”–of yesteryear; instead, child care businesses are now considered “accessory uses” in residential settings and are allowed anywhere that housing is allowed by right.
"Our regional planning process has provided numerous opportunities for inspiration. And surprisingly, a willingness to take action. We got to work immediately and began setting the changes in motion. Because let’s be honest, you can’t have a thriving community or a community ready for development without thriving early learning and care businesses."
— Kathy Szenda Wilson, Co-Executive Director, Pulse at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
“The coalition experience has been transformative for me, highlighting the crucial role of child care in our community’s economic development. By integrating child care support into our business initiatives, we’re fostering a more supportive environment for entrepreneurs and families alike. This collaborative effort underscores the importance of accessible, quality child care as a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth.”
— Emma Bostwick, Director of Business Attraction at the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP)
Strengthening Child Care Businesses Through Existing Small Business Ecosystems
Michigan’s economic development sector—a critical system for our communities to flourish—is proving to be a powerful and willing partner in solving the child care crisis. Flint and Genesee Chamber and Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), two Economic Development Organizations leading regional coalitions, are taking intentional actions to integrate child care into their “every-day” work. Their advocacy has trought child care to the forefront of conversations where it is historically has been left out and have integrated child care into their existing small business ecosystems. Recently, Flint and Genesee Chamber and LEAP received Small Business Support Hub grants from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Both EDOs have intentionally designed these hubs to serve the unique needs of child care businesses—an impact of being part of the regional coalition work and understanding how critical child care businesses are to the economy.