Child care missing on 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference agenda
Child-care costs top out at $56,000 in some cities
Some parents are taking side jobs to keep up with the cost of child-care.
Bloomberg
We cannot build a prosperous, equitable and sustainable Michigan without placing families at the center of our economic strategy. Families are not a side conversation — they are the workforce, the innovators and the next generation of leaders. When we fail to prioritize their stability and growth, we undermine the very foundation of the state’s future.
But this week, as leaders from across Michigan gather at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference — one of the state’s most powerful stages for shaping our future ― to debate economic competitiveness, talent retention and innovation, Michigan’s children and families are the critical component missing from the equation.
Lifelines at risk
Across Michigan, vital lifelines for families are at risk. Proposed federal cuts to Head Start, housing assistance (HUD), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid threaten the essential supports that keep children safe, parents working and communities thriving. These programs are not just safety nets. They are economic infrastructure.
Consider this:
- Over 30,000 Michigan children gain critical developmental support through Head Start and Early Head Start. Cuts would eliminate thousands of these opportunities.
- Nearly 92,000 families depend on Housing Choice Vouchers to remain housed — housing that supports job security, school attendance and community stability.
- Around 1.2 million Michiganders rely on SNAP to feed their families, which in turn supports local businesses and regional food economies.
- Some 2.3 million residents, including children, are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Cuts here risk access to preventative care, strain emergency services, and create ripple effects across schools and workplaces.
If we want to attract and retain talent, reduce long-term healthcare and education costs, and support a vibrant economy, we must invest in the systems that help families thrive.
That’s where Hope Starts Here comes in. We are a Detroit-based collaborative of over 40 organizations — nonprofits, educators, health care providers, foundations and more — working together to ensure every child in Detroit has the care, education, and resources to thrive. Our vision is bold: By 2027, make Detroit a city that puts young children and families first.
We’re already making real progress:
- Partnering with the City of Detroit to amend zoning policies and reduce barriers to opening child care centers.
- Improving early learning environments to better prepare children for school and life.
- Supporting the development of a Macomb, Oakland and Wayne County Regional child care plan grant to address access, affordability and quality.
- Convening partners across systems to build a stronger, more inclusive infrastructure for child and family well-being.
- Coordinating advocacy city wide across each partner to increase awareness to center children and families in the Detroit mayoral election.
- Connecting childcare providers with K-3 education, to ensure that children are meeting important milestones to prepare for Kindergarten.
We can’t do it alone
But we cannot do it alone. To make this work sustainable — and to scale it across Michigan — we need policymakers, business leaders and community partners to act with urgency.
We call on state leaders to:
- Increase wages and benefits for early childhood educators — the workforce behind the workforce.
- Raise child care scholarship reimbursement rates.
- Implement a Michigan Child Tax Credit.
- Make early childhood educators categorically eligible for state supports.
- Protect and expand access to federal programs that stabilize families.
Growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum
Mackinac Policy Conference is a place for bold ideas and courageous leadership. Let’s ensure that this year, the conversation includes the most essential voices — our parents, caregivers, providers, and children. We must stop pretending that the equation for economic growth and workforce development happen in a vacuum. Let’s ask how every policy— on infrastructure, workforce, innovation, or investment —directly supports Michigan families.
Hope Starts Here isn’t just a name. It’s our strategy. Investing in early childhood isn’t a moral afterthought — it’s a smart, scalable growth strategy. Nobel Laureate James Heckman’s research shows that early investments in children yield the highest economic returns. In other words: the sooner we invest, the stronger we grow. This was made evident when Detroit became a UNESCO city, centering all forms of sustainability.
Together, we can build a Michigan where families flourish, talent stays, businesses grow, and every child has a path to success. Let’s expand the agenda, center the people who power our economy, and move Michigan forward — starting with its youngest residents.
It’s time to give them a seat at Michigan’s most important table.
Kirby Burkholder is president of Core Business Solutions at IFF. Alicia Guevara is CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation. Jeff Miles is vice president of community impact at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Denise Fair Razo is a public health professional. James Ribbron is executive director of Detroit Champions for H.O.P.E.
Hope Starts Here is a Detroit-based collaborative of over 40 organizations, including nonprofits, educators, health care providers and foundations, working together to ensure every child in Detroit has the care, education, and resources to thrive. Learn more at https://hopestartsheredetroit.org/.
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