Daycare owners hope new state funding will solve an expensive problem

Sep 15, 2023

MUSKEGON, Mich. — News that Michigan is injecting $100 million into the state's effort to expand child care is exciting local owners and should spell relief for parents. Half of Michigan families struggle to pay for child care.

The ‘Caring for MI Future’ plan, announced Monday by Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, will aim to provide better pay to staff and open 1,000 new daycare centers by the year 2024.

"It means for me that I’m able to pay staff more, which is a good thing," said Tina Grissom, owner of Tina Tots Learning Center.

Grissom has already had to turn parents away ahead of a busy summer season, when older kids are out of school and parents are shuffling back into the office after a pandemic likely spent completely or partially at home.

The issue for child care centers is one of supply, not one of demand. Places like Tina Tots have parents banging down the door to get their kids a spot, but it stretches Grissom and her staff thin. As much as they can, they try not to raise prices on already struggling parents, and have even held spots for weeks when people can't pay for care.

"Childcare is expensive," she said, "especially if you’re a single parent."

There have even been times where Grissom hasn't been able to provide herself with a paycheck.

"Even though I’m not able to pay myself, I still have to put the money back into the program. So that means if I have to buy food out of pocket, that means I buy supplies out of pocket," she said.

A study released this year showed that the cost of child care in Michigan is nearly equal to the cost of a 4-year college tuition. Plenty of parents need the vital service, but there aren't enough places offering it.

Jennifer Bogue-Courter opened Little Dreamers Daycare Center in Muskegon – not far from Tina Tots – in late-January of 2022. She was having trouble finding daycare for her own child and decided to use her 30-plus years of experience in early childhood education to help herself and other parents in the same position.

"I was full within less than a month," she said, "and I feel bad when people call or message me and they’re like ‘what do I do?’"

Her best advice is to ask for a recommendation. Grissom and Bogue-Courter say they’ve been helping parents they’ve had to turn away find something when they can.

"We’re all networking together," said Bogue-Courter. "If I don't have a spot, I’m [telling] people, call this number, call that number."

Eventually, Bogue-Courter would like to be able to offer her employees healthcare and continue to assist with costs for their classes and certifications. Grissom wants to expand too, and offer programming that not only educates her kids, but aids her parents too. She's held group meetings for her single parents, and sessions with snappy titles like "Muffins with Moms" and "Donuts with Dads" that help parents navigate the difficulties of parenthood.

"When you work with children, people always say ‘babysit.’ We are not babysitters, we are workers; we are providers," she said, calling the possible funding a ‘major, major advancement’ for Michigan childcare. "That means I’m able to get more things, more materials that I need as far as my students whether it's mats or cots, or even if it's supplies or food. So it helps me."