In a Nutshell
What: Caring for MI Future: Facilities Improvement Fund is a grant program to distribute $59 million to new and expanding child care providers across the state of Michigan to renovate and upgrade their child care facilities so more families have access to quality care.
Sector: Early Childhood Education
Location: Michigan
Impact: More than 3,500 renovation and upgrade projects at 1,100+ home- and center-based facilities, expanding access to safe, quality, and affordable child care for Michiganders.
When Squiggles & Giggles Early Childhood Learning Center opened its doors in April, it was an emotional affair for neighborhood families as well as the owner, Kai Young.
“One of the most emotional things for me was our sign,” Young says. “Now everyone knows this is Squiggles & Giggles. The sign is who we are, and now the world can see it and know we’re here. We’re in an area that’s not upper class. It means the world to me that I could bring safety and quality child care to families in a neighborhood that otherwise wouldn’t get it. Without this grant, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
Young is a recipient of the Caring for MI Future: Facilities Improvement Fund (CFMF) grant. The funds enabled Young to repair, renovate, and open what is now Squiggles & Giggles, in Detroit.
“Families come in and are amazed. They say things like, ‘This is great. I can walk my kid up here,’ and ‘It’s perfect. My grandmother is just around the corner,’” Young says. “When children come to visit, right away they put their coats and shoes in cubbies and say, ‘We don’t want to leave.’ It’s like they already feel at home.”
Improving facilities and communities
On behalf of the Michigan Department of Lifelong Learning, Achievement, and Potential (MiLEAP), IFF administered and awarded $59 million to new and expanding child care programs throughout the state. The grant has helped more than 1,100 home- and center-based facilities fund more than 3,500 renovation and upgrade projects, expanding access to safe, quality, and affordable child care for Michiganders.
“Facility quality – such as ventilation, air quality, noise control, lighting, and furnishings – is proven to be a crucial contributor to high-quality learning environments and proven to positively affect children’s development, well-being, and education. Improving and creating quality facilities also helps ensure that child care spaces reflect the dignity all children and their families deserve.”
“It’s great to see how much the funds are improving these learning environments. Safe, quality child care spaces help lay the foundation for positive early childhood experiences,” says Jeff Henze, implementation director at IFF. “We have also seen these projects inspiring other providers. Whether it is a fixture they hadn’t seen before or a room layout they hadn’t thought of, providers are seeing what they can do and what a difference it makes and applying it to their facilities. That will continue well beyond when the final grant project is complete.”
Grantees used the funds to undertake projects such as replacing old furnaces and windows to outdoor playscapes and safe play spaces indoors. As a mission-driven lender and real estate consultant, IFF works to empower change makers to create quality facilities just like these.
“Facility quality – such as ventilation, air quality, noise control, lighting, and furnishings – is proven to be a crucial contributor to high-quality learning environments and proven to positively affect children’s development, well-being, and education,” Henze says. “Improving and creating quality facilities also helps ensure that child care spaces reflect the dignity all children and their families deserve.”
For some providers, these funds not only improved their facilities, but made it possible to remain open.
“This year, my business had to shut down five times due to loss of power. Being able to use this grant to purchase a whole home generator means I can safely remain operational when the weather is unpredictable – which is all the time in Michigan,” says Sarah Fulsome, owner of RunaMuk Childcare in Deerfield. “I can better serve families and offer a safe space for the kids during communitywide outages. Being able to have a stable schedule will help families continue enrollment at my home daycare.”
These grant funds are intended to build on the stabilization grants issued by the State of Michigan to help communities recover from the pandemic. They also come at a critical time. Data collated by the state shows an incredible need for more and better supported child care. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), in the vast majority of Michigan counties, three or more children are competing for every single child care slot. Based on staffing data and child poverty rates, most counties are considered areas of urgent need for additional child care support.
More access to quality care
On May 8, MiLEAP announced that all $59 million of the CFMF FIF funds had been awarded. Work on some of the projects will continue through July 31 when the final funds will be disbursed.
“Quality, safe, and affordable child care is essential to the vitality of communities. Child care enables parents to remain in the labor force, increasing household income, boosting economic productivity, and benefiting their community,” says MiLEAP Acting Director Michelle Richard. “Thanks to our child care providers and the CFMF FIF team, more than 1,400 child care programs across the state are able to offer higher-quality care to more families. And we’re not done. There is still an urgent need for more child care seats, the professionals caring for our children need more support, and we are dedicated to making sure every community in Michigan has access to world-class care for children and families.”
CFMF FIF is a grant program to distribute $59 million in federal funding to new and expanding child care providers across the state. The program is part of the larger Caring for MI Future initiative – a $100 million investment of American Rescue Plan Act funding that will help more Michigan families find quality, affordable child care by opening 1,000 new, or expanded, child care programs by the end of 2024. This goal was met and exceeded a year ahead of schedule with 1,089 new child care centers opening, 2,159 home-based providers expanding their programs, and creating 36,783 new spots in child care facilities.
“As a child care provider, far too often we have to settle for things that are ‘good enough.’ With these funds I could purchase items of quality, instead of things that will need to be replaced in a couple years. I could focus on ensuring the children, their families, and our staff have a safe, welcoming space.”
Improving facilities enables providers to expand their capacity, enhance children’s access to quality care and education and, in some cases, can make the difference in parents’ ability to work and provide for their families.
“I have a parent waiting for me right now, because she knows, somehow, by the grace of God, I have something that will help her get through the day. I can keep her child safe and cared for,” says Tasha Taylor, owner of Taylor Totts Daycare, in Grand Rapids. “Now I can do more. I’m forever grateful for this grant. We do the best we can with what we have. I’ve been doing this for eight years, it took me seven years to be able to make the first upgrade for the kids because I pay my bills from what we bring in.”
Like Taylor, Young says the funds not only help with essentials, they also created true quality.
“As a child care provider, far too often we have to settle for things that are ‘good enough,’” says Young. “With these funds I could purchase items of quality, instead of things that will need to be replaced in a couple years. I could focus on ensuring the children, their families, and our staff have a safe, welcoming space.”
The grant funds also freed up Young’s budget to deal with other needs for the center, like replacing the entire roof.
“We were able to take care of so many things, from flooring to lights in the ceiling; a new furnace and water heater; paint; child-sized toilets and sinks; and shelves and storage,” she says. “I was a home-based provider for 30-plus years. I couldn’t have done something like this on my own.
“I had a vision for something long term,” she says. “If I had to do this on my own, it would have taken years and years. I wasn’t expecting, and I didn’t want, a situation where someone would come along and help complete my vision. I just wanted a little help to get started. I will do the rest.
“My daughter graduated from Central Michigan University in May and is going into child care, too. I wanted to have something to help her start her career,” Young says. “I worked for 30 years to get to a place I was content with my program, with my staff and families. I didn’t want my daughter to have to work 30 years to get to a place where she’s content. She is going to do amazing things for the children she cares for, and because of this grant, she gets to start that right now.”
Learn more about IFF’s work to expand access to quality early childhood education in Michigan