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On April 7, the Child Care Innovation Fund will open applications for its Family Child Care Networks grant, funded by Caring for MI Future. ECIC received $12.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding in August 2022, awarded by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) as part of the Caring for MI Future initiative. Caring for MI Future is a $100 million investment that will help more Michigan families find quality, affordable childcare in their community by opening 1,000 new, or expanded, childcare programs by the end of 2024. Families seek out and use home-based child care/family child care for their infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children because it meets their child care needs and preferences. Family child care offers a smaller, home-like setting, with a provider with whom a family may share their language, culture, race or ethnicity. Family child care often operates outside of the 9-5, which makes it more accessible, and with lower overhead and operating costs, more affordable, for working families. In recognition of the critical need to both stabilize and expand access to high quality family child care, ECIC’s Child Care Innovation Fund is offering specific resources – through this Caring for MI Future grant opportunity – to establish staffed family child care networks in all four ECSN regions. A family child care network is an interconnected group of providers and families that comes together to enhance supports for home-based child care, including quality, access to services, and sustainability. Potential applicants can learn about this grant opportunity, interpretation services, office hours, and informational webinars at the link below. |