LANSING, Mich. – The Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) released its latest Child Care Innovation Fund (CCIF) Impact Report, highlighting five years of progress expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care for Michigan families. Since its inception five years ago, the fund has distributed more than $20 million through 134 grants to strengthen the state’s child care system.
“Michigan continues to face significant challenges in child care access, affordability, and workforce capacity. These are issues that directly impact families, employers, and the state’s economy,” said Alicia Guevara, CEO of ECIC. “Over the past five years, the CCIF has shown that strategic investment and collaboration can move the needle expanding access and building more resilient systems statewide.”
In 2025 alone, the CCIF disbursed $4.8 million and awarded 33 grants, reflecting continued momentum and a significant scale-up in its impact. These CCIF investments are driving measurable impact through several key initiatives:
- Early Care and Education Registered Apprenticeships (ECE RAPs): This initiative supports 441 active apprentices and 40 participating employers. These programs create career pathways while helping employers recruit and retain skilled workers.
- Family Child Care Networks (FCCNs): In 2025, 30 networks supported more than 479 licensed providers across 51 counties in the state, strengthening home-based child care businesses and expanding care options for families.
- Regional Child Care Coalitions (RCCCs): Ten coalitions representing members in economic development, business, government along with parents and regional funders are leading community-driven solutions, contributing to policy changes, expanding child care supply, and integrating child care into regional economic development strategies.
The need for innovation in the early childhood industry could not be clearer:44% of Michiganders live in a child care desert, where there are more than three children per every available licensed child care space.On average, childcare teachers and preschool teachers earned 61 and 78 percent of what a typical Michigander earned in 2023, respectively.Due to insufficient child care availability, Michigan is estimated to lose $2.88 billion in economic activity annually.
Launched with a $3 million seed investment from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2021, the Child Care Innovation Fund is a first-of-its-kind statewide engine for innovation, partnering with leaders across sectors to design, pilot, and scale solutions that address Michigan’s most pressing child care challenges.
To learn more about CCIF and its impact, visit ecic4kids.org/child-care-innovation-fund.