Latest ‘Kids Count’ report sheds light on childcare crisis in Michigan

DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ-TV) — Each year the Annie E. Casey Foundation publishes its “Kids Count Data Book,” which looks at how states are faring in key categories ranging from economic well-being to education and health.

This year, for the first time, the report also looked specifically at how the child care crisis is impacting young children across the country.

In Michigan, the affordability crisis for childcare has played out in many ways. For one, the share of a single parent’s income that goes to childcare in our state is higher than in 38 other states.

For center-based care, annual costs for a toddler are around $11,300. That’s 37 percent of a single parent’s income and 11 percent of a couple’s income.

In the case of family or home-based care, annual costs for a toddler are around around $7,500. That’s 25 percent of a single parent’s income and 7 percent of a couple’s income.

It’s a reality Randi Hogarth knows all too well, having to leave her job years ago to take care of kids at home.

“My whole paycheck went to childcare,” she said.

Data shows that 23 percent of kids live in a home where a parent has either quit, changed, or turned down a job due to child care costs.

Rebecca Johnson and her husband both have good paying jobs, she said. Still, care for their 3-year-old daughter just wouldn’t be possible without Rebecca’s family’s; they provide home-based care.

Rebecca considers herself lucky. Seeing where Michigan ranked nationally on childcare costs wasn’t necessarily a surprise to her.

“Extremely expensive for childcare,” she said.

Montoya Tyner is also a mother, and considered what it would mean if family wasn’t able to fill-in the childcare gaps.

“That would be like paying 2 rents. That would be a huge burden,” she told Action News.

Anne Kuhnen is the Kids Count Policy Director for Michigan League for Public Policy. We asked her what’s driving affordability crisis.

“Compared to older kids in K-12 programs where the state is investing a lot, that’s just not true when it comes to really young kids,” she said.

On top of that, there’s a need for overall higher wages she said, particularly in the child care sector, she said.

“The low wages that childcare workers are facing is really exacerbating income and wage inequality for women and specifically women of color who make up the majority of childcare workers in the state,” Kuhnen told Action News.

Last June, Gov. Whitmer signed a bi-partisanpackage of bills aimed at bringing down costs and expanding access to child care in our state, which Kuhnen said has helped.

“This is not going to be a one time fix. It requires continued investment,” she said.

At the federal level, emergency COVID dollars which helped thousands of providers keep their doors open, will run out at the end of September. Kuhnen said without action, childcare costs could rise even further.

We asked Rebecca what she’d like to change.

“They’ve offered a lot of in-home credit for in-home daycares, grants that are available. However those individuals, we’re just not seeing an expansion of new child-care centers,” she said.

Rebecca would also like to see employers get creative and offer more childcare support for workers, so that leaving the workforce isn’t a solution.

In the report’s other categories, Michigan ranked 26th nationally in health, 42nd in education, and 32nd in overall economic well being. Some bright spots in the data Kuhnen pointed out is that Michigan’s teen pregnancy rate has continued to fall, and Michigan ranks in the top 10 states for young children with health insurance.

The foundation’s state-level report, which will look at how different areas and counties within Michigan stack up, is expected to be released in August.