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Michigan's Children Need You:
Three Urgent Actions Before The FY2027 Budget Is Finalized
| Preserve CDC Scholarships In FY2027 | |
Michigan's FY2027 budget process is well underway, and our state is at a crossroads for early childhood investment.
The decisions being made right now in Lansing and Washington will shape the futures of hundreds of thousands of children and families across our state.
In the FY2027 state budget, the Michigan House has proposed cutting $19.5 million from the Child Development & Care (CDC) Scholarship program by shifting reimbursements from an enrollment-based to an attendance-based model. This would reverse years of hard-won progress to stabilize Michigan's child care industry.
Enrollment-based reimbursement is an established best practice – it keeps child care businesses financially stable even when children have inevitable absences. Undermining that stability doesn't save money in the long run; it erodes the child care infrastructure that working families, and the broader Michigan workforce, depend on every day.
Contact your state lawmakers and help them understand what's at stake.
| | Emphasize the importance of consistent funding and enrollment-based payments in the CDC Scholarship Program. | | |
Protect and support funding for early childhood programs in services.
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Advocate against rolling back the stable policies that Michigan families and child care businesses rely on.
| | Sponsor the Inaugural First Steps, Bright Futures Fundraiser | | |
The ECIC Foundation is hosting its inaugural First Steps, Bright Futures fundraiser on Wednesday, September 16, in Lansing to expand the impact of ECIC’s mission and unlock new opportunities for innovation and advocacy on behalf of young children and their families.
We invite you to join us for the event and consider sponsoring to be a part of what promises to be a nostalgic, magical evening.
Investing in early childhood is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen communities and grow Michigan’s future. Yet families with young children across the state continue to face significant challenges to having their needs met, and the early childhood industry remains under-resourced.
Your support of the ECIC Foundation will help address these challenges by unlocking new funding, supporting innovation, advocating for families, and strengthening partnerships.
As a sponsor of the First Steps, Bright Futures Fundraiser, your organization can play a foundational role in launching the ECIC Foundation while demonstrating a strong commitment to Michigan families, young children, and the workforce of tomorrow.
Your sponsorship helps build the foundation that Michigan’s youngest children deserve.
Together, we can do more — and deepen our impact — for all Michigan children and families.
| | ECIC Announces Competitive Funding Opportunity for Great Start to Quality Resource Centers | | |
ECIC has announced a competitive funding opportunity for Great Start to Quality Resource Centers that will open on June 24, 2026.
As a partner to the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, ECIC will solicit applications from up to 10 qualified organizations to serve as Great Start to Quality Resource Centers. A qualified organization will be selected to serve as the Great Start to Quality Resource Center for each of Michigan’s 10 economic development regions.
Organizations selected to serve as Great Start to Quality Resource Centers will partner with ECIC to implement Practice-Based Coaching and other forms of evidence-based technical assistance and training for eligible child care programs and their educators.
This funding opportunity will not award individual child care providers or businesses. Eligible organizations include public or private for-profit or nonprofit legal entities or agencies that can demonstrate the capacity and ability to effectively implement the Great Start to Quality Resource Center(s) Scope of Work in one or more regions. Organizations that wish to apply to serve more than one region must submit a separate application for each region.
| | Great Start to Quality Resource Center Pre-Application Technical Assistance Webinar | | |
ECIC’s Great Start to Quality team will host a technical assistance webinar via Zoom to share more information about this competitive funding opportunity.
This session will review information housed in the Request for Proposal document, including application questions, requirements, and the associated scoring rubrics.
The webinar will be held on Thursday, June 25, 2026, 9-11 a.m. ET.
Questions regarding this competitive funding announcement may be directed via email to greatstarttoquality@ecic4kids.org.
| | Fund Early Childhood In FY2027 | | |
The FY2027 budget is also an opportunity to go further and invest in a more comprehensive vision for early childhood in Michigan.
The Think Babies Michigan coalition is calling on legislators to fund five priorities: mental health support for infants and caregivers, increased investment in Early On, preservation of the Rx Kids program, higher reimbursement rates for child care scholarships, and the creation of a dedicated early childhood fund.
Research consistently demonstrates that investments in the prenatal-to-three window yield the highest long-term returns for children, families, and state economies. These aren't aspirational asks; they are evidence-based commitments that will determine whether Michigan children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and thrive.
Tell your lawmakers that this budget season is a one-time window to get it right.
| | Protect Federal Child Care Funding | | |
The urgency extends beyond Michigan's borders. In Congress, a package of federal bills — including the Cassidy "discussion draft" in the Senate — would overhaul the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), imposing new administrative burdens on states, granting the federal government new powers to freeze child care funding, and rolling back the stability policies that Michigan families and child care businesses rely on.
Proponents justify these measures as anti-fraud efforts, yet there is no evidence of widespread fraud in child care programs. These bills don't address the real child care crisis – they deepen it.
With millions of families already struggling to find and afford care, and early childhood educators among the lowest-paid workers in the country, this is not the moment for federal policy that destabilizes an already strained system.
Contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator today and ask them to consider the harmful impact of this legislation.
| | Speak Up for Medicaid in the State Budget | |
Michigan’s Medicaid program is under pressure from federal cuts made last year that threaten coverage for more than 2 million residents, as well as new administrative burdens that could create chaos for families trying to keep their health care.
The state budget is currently being negotiated, and lawmakers need to hear from you.
The FY27 budget is one of the most consequential decisions Michigan can make to protect Medicaid. Think Babies Michigan and our partners in the Protect MI Care coalition need your voice.
Contact your House member, Senator, and Governor Whitmer today. Urge them to pass a FY2027 state budget that provides the staffing MDHHS needs to meet the demands of the new federal requirements, and protects Michigan’s Medicaid program so that no one loses coverage due to a paperwork backlog or an understaffed office.
To support your advocacy efforts, Protect MI Care has a new toolkit with ready-to-use materials, including:
- Talking points on the FY27 budget and MDHHS staffing.
- Social media posts with accompanying graphics.
- Newsletter and website language you can adapt for your own channels.
| | Save the Date: Advocacy 301 & 401 | |
Advocacy 301: Levels of Power
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Register here for 6 PM–7 PM EST
As election season approaches, Michiganders will be voting on candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. Learn more about the influence each race will have and which candidates are responsible for the issues impacting early childhood at the different levels of government. This training is open to all interested advocates, families, direct service providers, community members, and early care and education professionals – no prior advocacy experience needed.
Trainings will not be recorded, but slides will be shared with registrants. MiRegistry training credit will be available – keep an eye out for the link to register for credit!
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Advocacy 401: Nonpartisan Electoral Advocacy
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Register here for 12 PM–1 PM EST
Register here for 6 PM–7 PM EST
In Advocacy 301, we will learn about different types of candidates and levels of power – in 401, we will learn how to effectively plan for and engage in nonpartisan electoral advocacy on those levels. This training is open to all interested advocates, families, direct service providers, community members, and early care and education professionals – no prior advocacy experience needed, although attendance at Advocacy 301 is encouraged.
Trainings will not be recorded, but slides will be shared with registrants. MiRegistry training credit will be available – keep an eye out for the link to register for credit!
| | Early Childhood Advocates' Corner | | Turn the Tables Virtual Office Hours | | |
Pull up a seat, because it's time we turn the tables! Have questions on how to ensure families’ experiences are strengthening your programs, services, and systems? The National Center for Family & Parent Leadership can help!
We're here to help you build capacity to expand and embed family and parent leadership to improve early childhood systems in Michigan and across the country.
Family & Parent Leadership office hours will be held every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 12 p.m. EST for 30 minutes.
The next office hours will be held on June 25th at 12 p.m. EST.
Questions? Contact FPL@ecic4kids.org. Recordings are available on the NCFPL website.
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