INITIATIVE: Quad County Childcare Coalition

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Co-Chairs: Gloria Brooks (DI Board President) & Lisa Bolen (NEMSCA Executive Director)

Goals (problem that we are trying to solve): Provide solutions to increase access to childcare for families and businesses in Iosco, Arenac, Alcona and Ogemaw Counties. Submit findings and recommendations to the community and funding source by June 30, 2024.

OVERVIEW: 

• In March 2023, DI was awarded a $203,000 regional childcare planning grant. 
• A four-county Regional Child Care Planning Coalition which includes Alcona, Arenac, Iosco and Ogemaw Counties was formed and meets quarterly.
• The 18-month grant period focuses on better understanding the needs of families with children age 12 and younger and learning new ways to expand access to child care including 2nd and 3rdshift and weekend care availability.
• The grant project was completed on August 31, 2024. 

Gloria Brooks, Convener/Co-Chair - President of DI Board of Directors

Lisa Bolen, Coalition Co-Chair/Needs Assessment - CEO, NEMCSA 

Chris Martin, DI Executive Director - Project Manager

Fred Lewis, Supervisor Plainfield Township 

Patrick Ready, Zoning Administrator, Plainfield Township

Michael Timreck, Zoning Administrator, Baldwin Township 

Jamie Carruthers-Soboleski, Controller/Finance Director, Iosco County

Krystal Wolanin, Hale Schools PTA 

Janet Bovee, In-home Child Care Provider 

Marianne Johns, Clerk, City of Whittemore 

Tammy Tyler, Great Start Collaborative Parent 

Christina Tappan, Iosco GSC/GSQ NE Resource Center - 

Penny Payea, Dir. of Business Services & Economic Dev., MIWorks! Region 7B - RCCIP Lead

LeeAnne Comer, Certified Business Solutions Professional, MIWorks! Region 7B - RCCIP Lead

Clara Sherman, Certified Business Solutions 

Ashley Udell, Business & Youth Solutions Manager MIWorks! Northeast Consortium 

Jeffrey Yorke, Superintendent, Hale Area Schools 

Rich Van Tol, Supervisor, School-Home-Community Partnerships/Early Childhood Education, GSD,   Bay-Arenac ISD, Supervisor, School-Home-Community Partnerships/Early Childhood Ed., GSD, Bay-Arenac ISD 

The Regional Child Care Planning Grant is supported by funding provided from the Michigan Department of Education utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

One of the greatest barriers for people pursuing — or keeping — a great job is the cost of child care. The Quad County Childcare Coalition (QCCC), a visionary four-county Regional Child Care Planning project (encompassing Alcona, Arenac, Iosco, and Ogemaw Counties) has worked extensively to identify solutions to these barriers and is now paving the way for access to new cost-sharing programs such as Tri-Share and DuoShare.

Tri-Share is a program in which the State of Michigan shares the cost of child care costs with employers and employees. There is an income limit for employees to participate in the program. Tri-Share had previously been available in other counties in Michigan and just recently added both Iosco and Alcona Counties to their service area. DuoShare is a brand-new cost-sharing program which allows all employees, regardless of income, to access a child-care cost sharing benefit.

In both programs, employers agree to cover a percentage of child care costs and create a new benefit. The employers set up employee payments using a payroll deduction. United Way of Northwest Michigan (UWNWMI) has the state-wide contract to administer the programs, and their staff manage the employer and employee contributions and pay childcare business owners directly. This program provides a new tool for employers to market a new benefit to potential and existing employees.

The Quad County Childcare Coalition (QCCC) hosted four information sessions for local employers to learn about these two childcare services cost-sharing programs that can be an asset to recruit and retain today’s workforce. By participating in a cost-sharing program, employers learned how to be able to offer employees assistance with affordable, reliable child care. As a result, employees can focus on their work and worry less about child care.

UWNWMI provided information about Tri-Share and DuoShare programs and how employers can engage employees in these services. 

The QCCC published its Childcare Innovation Grant Report in mid-January. The report (see below) encapsulates strategic recommendations aimed at alleviating the hurdles faced by employers, employees, and childcare business owners.

Gloria Brooks, President of Develop Iosco Inc. and co-chair of the QCCC, explained how employers supporting cost-sharing strategies such as Tri-Share and DuoShare can positively impact all employees regardless of whether they have children using childcare services. "Employers may wonder if it is equitable to offer a child care benefit to employees when not all employees need such assistance. Even when employers offer a variety of healthcare benefits such as vision and dental, not all employees use the services. Offering a childcare cost-sharing benefit should be considered the same way – it is a benefit that can reduce absenteeism (impacting all employees), increase retention, and reduce the burden for employees who want to be a contributing part of the local workforce and economy.”

Company/Organization

Bay-Arenac ISD

Creative Pathways Counseling PLLC

Employment Services, Inc.

Hale Area Schools

Huron Community Bank

Iosco County

Kalitta  Air

Michigan Works! Region 7B

Mid-Michigan Grant Writers 

Miller & Associates

Minth

MSU   Extension

NEMCOG

NEMCSA

Oscoda Area Schools

PKL Cares

Pulse @ the W.E. Upjohn Institute

Star Cutter/Tawas Tool

Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce

Tawas Bay Insurance Agency

Tri-County Agency Insurance

Trillium Staffing

Walmart