A: All about child care
Working families in Michigan have long managed the responsibility of finding quality child care that won’t break the bank. In this state, where industry and innovation thrive, parents often find themselves wrestling with a paradox: they pay substantial sums to send their children to child care centers, yet these payments rarely suffice to sustain the very businesses entrusted with their children’s well-being. This not only takes a toll on families but also strains businesses who are struggling to retain their employees.
For many, this struggle is not just emotional, but financial too — parents grapple with the daunting task of securing reliable and nurturing care for their children while striving to maintain a foothold in the workforce. The jigsaw puzzle of finding safe, affordable child care is a conundrum with no easy fix, but a promising idea that began right here in Michigan might be part of the solution.
B: Better access for working families
In a world where the phrase “it takes a village” is often invoked, the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program breathes life into those words, transforming them from a well-known adage into a tangible reality for Michigan families. The Tri-Share funding model distributes the financial responsibility for child care across three main stakeholders: employees, employers and the State. This family-focused approach gives parents the ability to choose licensed child care that works best for them, without restriction from the employers or the State.
The first of its kind, Tri-Share has transcended partisan divides and set Michigan on a path toward a brighter future for families and businesses alike. It started as a pilot in three carefully selected regions and grew into a permanent program, operating in nine additional areas and serving a few hundred families.
The program, mandated by a bipartisan act, was designed to address the unique child care needs of Michigan’s diverse communities, including one rural area, one suburban and one urban region, ensuring that initiative benefits reached families across the state’s varied landscapes. PSC worked with the Michigan Women’s Commission to evaluate the program, focusing on the three pilot sites: West Michigan, Northwest Lower Michigan and the Bay Area.
C: Crafting success for families, employers and child care businesses
Families who have participated in the program have gained quality child care and experienced significant financial relief to the extent that some have achieved the dream of purchasing their own homes. Simultaneously, employers credit Tri-Share with improved retention, as more were able to enter the labor market, stay engaged in their jobs and even increase their working hours ─ a win-win scenario for both parents and employers.
Some child care businesses, predominantly child care centers, seized the opportunity to rethink the benefits they offer their employees. The program helped them shift from offering employees free child care, which was financially unsustainable, to providing Tri-Share slots instead. However, it’s essential to note that the pilot phase of the program was relatively short, making it challenging to gauge its long-term sustainability.
MI Tri-Share hubs and employers
- Making child care affordable and accessible for working parents in the ALICE population (asset limited, income constrained, employed) by reducing out-of-pocket child care costs and alleviating the challenge of finding child care
- Helping employers retain and attract employees by removing child care affordability as a barrier to employment
- Supporting provider stability and recruitment by helping to secure reliable payment
- Making child care affordable and accessible for working parents in the ALICE population (asset limited, income constrained, employed) by reducing out-of-pocket child care costs and alleviating the challenge of finding child care
- Helping employers retain and attract employees by removing child care affordability as a barrier to employment
- Supporting provider stability and recruitment by helping to secure reliable payment
Scaling for the future
Success in the three original regions is serving as a blueprint for child care excellence across Michigan’s expanding landscape. PSC research shows that newer program adoptees benefit from connecting with established hubs that provide resources, materials and expertise they can learn from.
As work to expand the program through the state continues, however, other challenges emerge. Our evaluation revealed that increasing administrative capacity, solving for billing issues and scaling for larger employers to join the program should be top priorities to serve more families across the state.
Increasing employer participation is also crucial and will require a multifaceted approach. It will involve improving child care access through community partnerships, finding creative ways to allocate financial resources, increasing program awareness and revisiting eligibility criteria to make child care services more accessible to a wider range of employees. Systematically tackling these challenges will allow employers to play a pivotal role in enhancing the availability of child care in Michigan and supporting the workforce in a revolutionary way.
There’s also the challenge of increasing the availability of high-quality child care. In many cases, finding available child care can be a difficult and frustrating endeavor for parents. This shortage underscores the pressing need for comprehensive solutions that not only make child care more affordable but also expand its availability. Expanding child care options and ensuring that accessible, high-quality care is readily available is crucial to supporting families, employers and child care providers and unlocking Tri-Share’s full potential.
The story doesn’t stop there
This program isn’t just about child care — it’s a catalyst for broader positive change and economic growth. Michigan’s endeavor to attract families from across the nation and grow the state’s population can be significantly enhanced through the adoption of the Tri-Share funding model. By distributing the financial burden among the State, employees and employers, Michigan can offer families access to affordable, high-quality child care services, fostering economic growth, supporting businesses and ensuring residents’ well-being. It directly addresses the multifaceted challenges that families, businesses and child care providers have grappled with for decades. The model’s comprehensive and collaborative approach positions Michigan as a trailblazer in addressing the child care needs of the modern workforce and establishing a family-friendly reputation nationwide.