The Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP), a nonpartisan policy institute dedicated to economic opportunity for all, recently released The Owner’s Manual for Michigan, a comprehensive guide that provides 16 policy recommendations for our lawmakers to consider.

MLPP shared that the manual was informed through their meetings with residents in six cities around the state and developed by their team of policy analysts.

“As we drove around the state, the residents we met were very different, but the problems they were facing were universal,” Gilda Jacobs, president and CEO for MLPP said. “We may have organized the information, but this plan really belongs to the 10 million people who call Michigan home—they’re the real owners of this great state and the real stakeholders in our policy decisions.”

The manual focuses on four key areas: thriving families, healthy communities, strong workers and top-notch education. Within each area there are multiple policy recommendations. We’re highlighting a few key takeaways.

Healthy Communities

• Protect Medicaid for children and families, including the Healthy Michigan Plan. MLPP shares that 2.5 million Michiganders are covered by Medicaid programs but initiatives such as work requirements for the Healthy Michigan Plan limit coverage. The manual recommends policymakers “promote innovative policies and provide financial support for Medicaid.”

• Expand access to affordable, accessible healthcare coverage for all. MLPP shares that Michigan needs to offer options to improve the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) cost and accessibility through “increased subsidies, prescription drug pricing reform and protecting some of the most popular reforms in the ACA.”

Thriving Families

• Increase child care subsidies. The manual states, “The child care business is so underfunded and undervalued that providers cannot charge what it really costs to provide high-quality care, and parents with low or moderate incomes cannot afford better quality care. Federal law recommends that states set subsidy rates at levels that allow families to purchase 75 percent of the licensed care in their communities, and Michigan falls short of that goal.” In 2017, CMF's Public Policy Committee and the Board of Trustees advocated for the Michigan Legislature to support then-Governor Rick Snyder's request to increase child care subsidies and expand eligibility for Michigan families. As a result, there was an increase bringing us closer to the federally recommended 75 percent of the market rate.

• Develop a statewide housing plan. Creating a comprehensive plan would help to increase coordination among multiple state agencies working to address the housing challenges facing Michiganders. In developing the plan, the state should identify more effective pathways to funnel resources to communities that would benefit most.

Strong Workers

• Enact a paid sick leave law that covers all workers. According to MLPP, the measure passed by the Legislature last year excludes 62 percent of Michigan workers from mandated eligibility.

• Reinstate the part-time independent student grant. This state financial aid provided support for students over the age of 30 to attend a public university or community college but it was eliminated in 2010. MLPP shares that it assisted 6,000 Michigan students and could help older students gain necessary skills.

Top-Notch Education

• Access to preschool education for all. MLPP shares that the state-funded preschool program, the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) shows children who participate score higher on early literacy and math assessments. Unfortunately, 3-year-olds are not eligible for GSRP. The manual recommends ensuring all children have access to high-quality preschool programs, beginning with children from low to moderate income households. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has identified universal preschool as a priority.

• Create a prenatal to third grade reading initiative. The manual says this framework would draw on resources from multiple state departments and engage both children and their parents.  

Cynthia Rowell, a board member of MLPP, CMF member and director of learning and impact for The Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, shared that MLPP also developed one-page summaries around specific topics providing readers with a snapshot of the issue, the current data related to the topic and recommendations for the role policy change could play in advancing outcomes.

“I am hopeful The Owner’s Manual for Michigan will serve as a compass for directing legislators to the needs of the people they are elected to represent,” Rowell said. “More than one in five children in Michigan live in poverty which we know is a primary indicator of poor child outcomes; as a state, we can do better by listening to those inside the issues and responding to their recommendations for change. The Owner’s Manual for Michigan is the tool for the funding community as well; knowing our funding objectives align with community voice helps to ensure we are headed in the right direction!”

Want more?

Check out The Owner’s Manual for Michigan.