LANSING, Mich., Sept. 21, 2021 — Today, state Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi), state Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) and the rest of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Task Force on Child Care received a hearing on a bipartisan package of bills, which would assist Michigan’s current child care facilities and providers, while providing assistance for emerging caregivers as well. 

“My bill in this package stems from what I and many other parents have observed with in-home providers — we want them focused on our kids, not navigating through multiple agencies and red tape just to stay open,” Breen said. “House Bill 5043 will improve current organizations and create additional family child care networks throughout the state — making one-stop shops for home-based providers on a regional basis.”

“As the father of two small boys, I understand child care is a huge expense that working families across the state are struggling to afford — especially parents of infants and toddlers,” Puri said. “The cost of infant child care is typically even higher than the already tremendous cost of paying a provider to watch and protect your child while you are at work. The contract model proposed in House Bill 5044 would help make infant and toddler child care more affordable for families while qualified caregivers receive better wages.” 

The Governor’s Task Force has proposed a bill package which aims to take on regulatory and organizational issues like:

  • Giving providers time to comply with new health and safety rules by allowing a 90-day grace period during implementation.
  • Helping providers locate where families live and work by giving child care providers a safe path to locate in multi-use buildings.
  • Reducing burden on providers by allowing their health and safety records to be shared with parents online.
  • Letting quality and caring providers thrive by cracking down on bad actors who try and game the system and get out of regulations.
  •  Improving quality and access to quality infant/toddler care by allowing a contract model that covers the cost of care.
  • Helping expand and support family child care providers by creating Family Child Care Networks.
  • Allowing increased ratios for family and group homes who have a proven record of success.

Members of Gov. Whitmer’s bipartisan Task Force on Child Care include Democratic state Reps. Breen and Puri, as well as state Reps. Jack O’Malley (R-Lake Ann) and Greg VanWoerkom (R-Norton Shores).

 

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