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Child Care Cost Sharing Program Expands

The state is celebrating the launch of two additional regional pilots of the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program. The expansion was made possible by a grant awarded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the Michigan Women’s Commission.

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A group of children sitting in a circle playing.

The state is celebrating the launch of two additional regional pilots of the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program. The expansion was made possible by a grant awarded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to the Michigan Women’s Commission.

Tri-Share is a first of its kind program in the country and is a part of the state’s efforts to increase access to high quality, affordable child care for working families, help retain talent and remove barriers to employment.

"High-quality, cost-effective child care needs to be regarded as a basic public service and a means to position every child to achieve future success," Faye Alexander Nelson, director of Michigan programs at WKKF and CMF trustee said. "The Kellogg Foundation is proud to make this investment to support the continued expansion and success of Tri-Share." 

Through Tri-Share, the cost of child care is shared equally by an eligible employee, their employer and the state of Michigan, with coordination provided regionally by a facilitator hub.  

"Our investment in high-quality, affordable child care, continues to help parents get back to work and is foundational to our economic recovery," Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a press release. "As we drive down the cost of child care in Michigan, these lasting investments and public-private partnerships will empower us to help more working families in Michigan. In Michigan today, one in three children 12 and under are eligible for low or no-cost childcare, and we will continue working to expand access and lower costs."  

WKKF’s grant will also support an outside evaluation of how Tri-Share is working, as well as investments in and supports for child care providers, such as training and professional development.

According to the state, Tri-Share facilitator hubs currently administer the pilot program in the Great Lakes Bay region, Northwest Lower Peninsula region, West Michigan region, Calhoun County and the city of Detroit. 

Included in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, the Legislature included $2.5 million to expand the Tri-Share pilot program.

Want more?

Read the full press release.

Learn more about the MI Tri-Share Child Care Program. 

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