The Interplay of Workforce Challenges and Infant/Toddler Slot Expansion in Michigan

Nationally, early childhood systems have high turnover and a shortage of qualified workers, which negatively affects the availability of child care for infants and toddlers. In Michigan, 58% of children aged birth to two years live where there is inadequate child care to meet needs (Michigan State University, 2025). Providers are limited in how many infants and toddlers they can care for due to adult-to-child ratio rules, so opening more slots for these ages requires more staff. Additional space is also necessary to serve infants and toddlers, and costs for food and supplies are often higher. Altogether, this means that the cost of delivering high-quality infant/toddler care is more expensive than for other age groups.

Michigan has a tiered payment structure for subsidized child care that factors in the higher costs of care for infants and toddlers. It has also invested heavily over the past several years in different strategies to increase the supply of child care for infants and toddlers. This Infant Toddler Pilot funded staff hiring and retention strategies like bonuses and wage increases, as well as facility improvements, materials that market openings to families, and equipment/supplies purchases. Providers chose how to use their grants to best meet their needs. However, providers received these additional funds for only a relatively brief 10-month period (December 2023 – September 2024).

The Infant Toddler Pilot was an important first step in planning a longer-term solution.

You can read more in the issue brief available below.

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