Last year, Governor Whitmer made a promise that all Michigan four-year-olds, irrespective of their background, would have access to a high-quality pre-K program, free of charge. The PreK for All action team has been working tirelessly to make that promise a reality. They have analyzed data, gathered best practices from across the country, listened to over 4,000 Michiganders from different parts of the state, and developed A Roadmap for Implementing PreK for All that provides options to cater to the needs of children and families. With the goal to achieve the Governor’s vision by 2027, the PreK for All program is set to transform the future of Michigan’s children, giving them a chance to start their education journey on the right foot.
We spoke with each HSH team to understand how their work contributes towards achieving the PreK for All goals.
Healthy, Thriving Families
Healthy, Thriving Families is focused on promoting healthy and thriving families, is being led by Henry Ford Health and the Detroit Health Department, with the help of numerous partners. The team is working together to enhance the accessibility of community-based maternal support services and provide comprehensive support and care to pregnant women and their children, even in the early years of their lives. The goal is to ensure that all children are healthy and ready to start school, which will help them thrive in their academic and personal lives. Furthermore, by collaborating with other programs that impact young children, such as developmental screenings, ECSE, home visits, and IECMH, the team is striving to build strong connections and provide holistic support to families.
Parent and Family Leadership
Detroit Champions for H.O.P.E. and its partners are committed to supporting families and caregivers in Detroit. They understand that families play a vital role in children’s development, and that’s why they’re working tirelessly to provide enrichment activities parents can do with their kids, such as the “6-a-day” program.
The team at Detroit Champions for H.O.P.E. is passionate about sharing success stories and working with other organizations to improve processes, programs, and systems that support families. One of their exciting initiatives is the community-developed “6-A-Days” program, which has been rolled out across the city. This program is aimed at preparing families for the fall and ensuring that outreach and enrollment are priorities for high-risk families. Detroit Champions for H.O.P.E. understands that Pre-K for All is critical to children’s success, and they are committed to identifying messaging that resonates with Detroit families. By working together with families, caregivers, and partners, Detroit Champions for H.O.P.E. is making a real difference in the lives of Detroit’s children.
Quality Programs and Professionals
Stakeholders across the state have expressed that the biggest concern for them is supporting the PreK workforce. The PreK for All Roadmap includes several proposals to support the workforce pipeline, such as developing common standards, providing professional development opportunities, attracting, and retaining early childhood workers with better compensation, and aligning the early childhood and K-3 systems.
To address these concerns, several key actions align with the goals of Quality Programs and Professionals. These include the 2024 Detroit EC Workforce Matters Virtual Convening Series, which aims to ensure that Detroit has a pipeline for early childhood workers, and having conversations that elevate provider and parent voices.
Additionally, The True Cost of Care Report has been created to consider the entire system of early childhood, including home care, EC provider pay, and policy-level conversations statewide.
Professional development opportunities are being promoted through ECE Systems, and apprenticeship/pipeline opportunities are being developed. Training for support is being offered to connect and strengthen partnerships around intervention services. Wayne County and Detroit are given special consideration when Michigan thinks about this sort of work.
The Early Childhood Investment Corporation and Black Family Development are supporting early childhood providers with access to technical assistance resources to improve program quality, strengthen its campaign for wage parity to ensure educators receive equitable compensation, and facilitate partnerships to expand the early childhood workforce and streamline kindergarten transitions.
Safe and Inspiring Environments
The PreK for All Roadmap is a plan that includes funding for facilities and start-up grants that align directly with the goals of Safe and Inspiring Environments. These goals are to ensure that all children in Detroit have safe and inspiring learning environments, equip all providers with the tools needed to make informed decisions regarding facilities and real estate, and ensure that Detroiters, including funders, providers, and families, have the information to prioritize resources and track progress against the seat gap.
To achieve these goals, IFF/HSH has taken several actions to support them. For example, IFF’s Caring for My Future, a statewide facilities fund, has already supported 64 new centers and home-based providers with nearly $13.5 million to enhance existing spaces.
This team also worked with the National Wildlife Federation to create a new pilot in Detroit that offers outdoor learning environments. Furthermore, we continue to support Learning Spaces SW and Fisher ECE network with facility improvements.
This commitment goes beyond simply providing funding. We also provide technical assistance to providers, help revamp newly purchased learning spaces, and utilize data to inform decision-making.
Better System Alignment
PreK’s success depends on its smooth integration with other systems. i5 is collaborating with its partners to support the entire system by aligning resources and securing additional private and public funding for the early childhood system in Detroit.
Some of the critical measures that the Better System Alignment team is taking include:
- Identifying areas where the state budget can be distributed equitably to support Detroit families.
- Keeping ECE funders informed about policy issues at the state level.
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration in early childhood and maintaining a continuous dialogue about what is being funded, what needs to be funded, and how philanthropy can fill the gaps.
- Mapping ECE funding across Southeast Michigan (including private philanthropy, government funding, childcare stabilization money, universal pre-k funding, and ARPA funding).
- Working with D3 to map out ECE data points across Detroit to layer funding and see how funding works across the city.
These actions will help ensure that Detroit’s early childhood system is well-funded and adequately supported, providing the necessary resources for children’s growth and development.
Increased and Aligned Funding
The Southeast Michigan Early Childhood Funders Collaborative is establishing alignment with Southeast Michigan foundations that invest in early childhood education and care by bridging the knowledge gap between government and philanthropic investments. The goal is to create a strong foundation of sustainable public and private funding to meet the needs of families and child care providers both now and in the future.
The PreK for All Roadmap contains certain provisions that are not part of the governor’s budget, such as a home-based pilot and workforce compensation. The question is how to fill this gap?
The Increased and Aligned Funding team is working to fill the gap by supporting the alignment of resources and bringing more resources into the early childhood system in Detroit, including both private and public funding.
- Participating in a Community of Practice to keep funders informed of ECE policy issues at the state level.
- Convening eight funders of the Collaborative to identify opportunities for aligned funding in the early childhood collaborative. Monthly discussions will focus on what they are currently funding, where they would like to invest, and how philanthropy can help to close gaps.
- Mapping ECE funding across Southeast Michigan, including private philanthropy, government funding, childcare stabilization funds, universal pre-k funding, and ARPA funding.
- Working with D3 to map out ECE data points across Detroit, layer funding, and see how funding works across the city.