Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation receives Childcare Champion Award for efforts to address ‘childcare desert’

The Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation has received a Childcare Champion Award for its Community Leadership Committee efforts to address the childcare desert in Isabella County. The award was presented by the Early Childhood Investment Corp. in collaboration with the Regional Childcare Planners of Michigan. 

A community qualifies as a childcare desert if it has only one available childcare opening for every three children who need a spot. In contrast, Isabella County has just one infant childcare spot for every six infants needing care.

The Foundation’s Community Leadership Committee monitors current and emerging issues affecting the quality of life of Isabella County residents. It helps the Board of Trustees and its committees understand the implications of such challenges and the resulting needs and opportunities. After learning of the childcare desert in Isabella County, committee members made childcare availability and quality a priority. 

“We wanted to focus on one area we knew would make an impact,” Committee Chair Erin Ludwig said. “Addressing the childcare desert will help local families and address the educational and economic development goals of our community. If you can find a place for your child to go to daycare, you can go to work.”

At the Foundation’s annual breakfast, Kati Mora, vice president of Middle Michigan Development Corp., said childcare shortages cause an estimated statewide economic loss of $2.88 billion annually. Additionally, it’s reported 1 in 4 people have turned down a job or left a job because of childcare limitations.

Factors that lead to a childcare shortage include startup barriers for in-home centers, delays at the state level, employee shortages and strict licensing requirements. Michigan has higher square footage requirements and lower child/adult ratios for childcare centers than other states. 

The anticipated opening of Hope Childcare Center in Mt. Pleasant's First United Methodist Church will be a significant step forward. Hope Center recently received two Community Foundation grants totaling $20,200 to support construction and start-up costs. The center is awaiting its fire inspection from the state’s only childcare fire inspector. 

Community Leadership Committee members also have:

• Engaged with Middle Michigan Development Corp. on in-depth research

• Attended an MMDC roundtable with area companies to discuss their potential roles 

• Studied the Marquette Community Foundation’s program for supporting childcare centers

• Communicated with Rep. Jerry Neyer on recommendations for state-level action, including increased state staffing for fire inspections, revising licensing requirements and expanding incentives for in-home centers. 

You can help, too, through these ideas from the Community Leadership Committee: 

• Share Michigan’s MI Bridges program with families in need of childcare payment assistance. 

• Ask politicians to bring Michigan licensing requirements in line with other states. 

• If you know of someone considering opening a daycare facility or in-home childcare center, connect them with the Community Foundation to learn about available resources. 

• Encourage employers to consider programs that support employees with children.