A Regional Partnership Between Genesee, Lapeer, Shiawassee, and St. Clair Counties
The Genesee, Lapeer, Shiawassee, and St. Clair County Regional Child Care Coalition (GLSSC) is a group of community leaders working to improve child care with funding from the Early Childhood Investment Corporation.
The GLSSC has partnered with Data-Driven Decisions, a data and project management firm, to seek input from business owners, administrators, and staff at child care centers that will inform the GLSSC action-planning process.
The Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP) is an incentive program available from the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) in cooperation with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The program is designed to provide grants, loans and other economic assistance to businesses for highly competitive projects in Michigan that create jobs and/or provide investment and results in a net-positive return to Michigan.
A regional child care coalition is a group of community leaders in Michigan’s prosperity regions who want to increase the supply of high-quality child care. The GLSSC Regional Child Care Coalition is the coalition that represents Genesee, Shiawassee, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties.
Throughout Michigan, and in each region, there are more children needing child care than there are spots available.1 The reasons for this gap are complicated. Child care providers have challenges recruiting and retaining staff. People who might be interested in becoming child care providers encounter many barriers. And child care is quite expensive—on average, child care costs 41 percent of a family’s income if they work full time earning minimum wage.2,3
Regional child care coalitions are funded by a grant through the Early Childhood Investment Cooperation (ECIC).
Each regional coalition is co-led by organizational leaders that have expertise in child care and economic development. GLSSC Regional Child Care Coalition is co-led by the Flint & Genesee Group, Child Care Network, St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency, Lapeer Intermediate School District, Lapeer County Community Foundation, and Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership. Coalition members include business and economic development partners, organizations that fund and administrate child care providers, and parents.
Each coalition is going to get everyone who cares about the quality and availability of child care in the same room. All voices will be heard, and with thoughtful conversations and planning, the coalition will gain shared insight and join forces with a shared aim of improving child care in the region. To make data-driven decisions, the coalition will use research, surveys of child care providers, and parent focus groups.
If you have any questions, please contact Allison Newman at anewman@flintandgenesee.org or Jordan at jordan@data-driven-decisions.org.
The Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance team is invested in your success, ready to connect you to the resources, partnerships, and incentives your business needs to thrive. Contact us to learn more about our available brownfields and additional state and local incentives.
