The U.S Chamber of Commerce report titled, Untapped Potential in Michigan: How Childcare Impacts Michigan’s Workforce Productivity and the Economy focuses on childcare supply and demand gaps impacting the workforce. Findings include among parents of children younger than six, 71% pay for childcare and families who pay for any form of childcare spend on average $672 per month. And in the last six months, 14% of parents left a job due to childcare issues. Marcus Keech is Director of Government Affairs with the Grand Rapids Chamber. He’s authored a solution active in 50 Michigan counties.
“The Tri-Share program is very innovative, state-of-the-art, first in the nation program where it connects the state government, the employers and the employees to gather through a regional hub where the employer will pay for a third of the cost of childcare, the employee will pay their third and the state will also contribute a third.”
This relieves the financial burden for parents, increases the talent pool for employers, and promotes early childhood development. Next steps are supporting childcare providers expansion addressing childcare deserts. And childcare workers must also receive a livable wage. Keech says the return on investment in these areas are as he puts it, “10 fold at least.”