Public Policy Associate’s report summarizing findings and recommendations on the Child Care Market Rate has been posted to the Michigan Department of Education’s website.
Every three years, a State Plan must be completed for the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) dollars received to support low-income families with access to childcare and improving the quality of child care. The CCDF helps to promote families’ economic self-sufficiency by making child care more affordable.
One requirement of receiving CCDF funding is to conduct a child care market rate survey. Market rate surveys are used to determine a payment rate that is sufficient to enable families using the subsidy to enter the child care market in a competitive position to find and afford care across the full range of child care services.
PPA designed the study to answer the following questions:
- What are the hourly, half-day, full-day, and weekly prices for licensed/registered child care across provider types, and how do prices vary across geographic regions within Michigan?
- To what extent is there equal access to child care across Michigan? Are there gaps between the CDC subsidy rate and the 75th percentile by age group, Great Start to Quality (GSQ) star rating, and provider type? If so, what strategies could be used to address these gaps?
- To what extent are there gaps between the cost of high-quality care and the amount of providers are collecting from parents and/or the CDC subsidy? What are the strategies Michigan could use to reduce these gaps?
- Do CCDF child care providers charge families more than the required family co-payment? If so, what proportion of facilities charge families a higher amount and how much do they charge beyond the required co-payment?
- How many providers do not accept or limit admissions of children who receive the CDC subsidy and why? What barriers exist (payment rates, practices, etc.) that prevent providers from serving CDC children? How could the subsidy reimbursement process be improved to increase provider participation?
The market rate survey occurred in late 2017 and early 2018. A draft of the report is available for review and comment through June 1, 2018.
To learn more about PPA’s education work, contact Colleen Graber at cgraber@publicpolicy.com or 517-485-4477.