Livingston and Washtenaw Counties Regional Child Care Planning 

The Livingston and Washtenaw Child Care Coalition is a group of community leaders, child care providers, and families in Livingston and Washtenaw Counties who want to increase the supply of high-quality child care.

In Livingston and Washtenaw Counties, there are three times as many children under the age of 13 as there are licensed child care spots available. The reasons for this gap are complicated. People who might be interested in becoming child care providers encounter many discouraging barriers to establishing and sustaining their business. Child care providers have problems recruiting and retaining staff, particularly given the low-paying nature of these jobs and the high cost of living in most of Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. And for parents, child care is quite expensive—on average, full-time child care in this area costs $904 per month. To put that in context, a single parent working a full-time minimum wage job would be paying 53 percent of their income for child care.

This coalition is funded by a grant through the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, also known as ECIC.

The coalition is led by Ann Arbor SPARK. Members include business and economic development partners, organizations that fund and administrate child care, providers of child care, and parents.

The coalition is going to bring together partners to develop a regional action plan to improve child care in Livingston and Washtenaw Counties, primarily by finding ways to support providers as businesses. To develop a data-driven action plan, the coalition will use research, surveys, and focus groups to collect information from a variety of perspectives. Once potential action items are identified and prioritized, they will begin implementing the plan in 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact plindeman@publicsectorconsultants.com.