Childcare Providers Association of Michigan

New data is available to help Michigan communities better understand childcare supply, demand, and access across the state.

Michigan State University and MiLEAP have launched an updated Child Care Mapping Project featuring interactive maps that highlight provider availability, childcare gaps, scholarship access, workforce trends, and more. The tool can help providers, community leaders, and policymakers identify local needs and opportunities for investment.

Whether you're advocating for your program, educating local leaders, or simply curious about the childcare landscape in your community, this is a valuable resource to explore.

View the tool here: https://erec.msu.edu/projects/child-care-mapping-project

Congratulations to CPAOM Board Chair Lindsey Potter on being named SBAM's Advocate of the Year!

Lindsey somehow operates in a world where there are more hours in the day than the rest of us have. As a childcare business owner, a dedicated mother, and a relentless advocate for Michigan's childcare community, she consistently shows up wherever providers need a voice.

Whether she's leading CPAOM advocacy initiatives, volunteering her time on SBAM's Child Care Policy Council, meeting with lawmakers, or testifying at the Capitol, Lindsey works tirelessly to ensure that the realities facing childcare providers are heard by decision-makers across our state.

Her advocacy is rooted in a simple belief: that childcare providers deserve a seat at the table and a voice in the policies that affect their businesses, the children they serve, and the families who rely on them.

We are proud to work alongside Lindsey and grateful for the leadership, passion, and commitment she brings to Michigan's childcare community every day.

Thank you to SBAM for recognizing Lindsey's impact, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
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How do we know Michigan providers' impact statements made it into the hands of lawmakers?

Because we delivered them ourselves.

On Tuesday, childcare providers from across Michigan gathered at the Capitol to hand-deliver provider impact statements to every House and Senate office.

As budget negotiations continue and discussions around Child Development and Care (CDC) reimbursement structures move forward, lawmakers are hearing directly from the people who understand these policies best: the providers serving Michigan children and families every day.

To every provider who submitted an impact statement, thank you. To those who traveled to Lansing to help deliver them, thank you.

Your voice matters. Your experiences matter. And your advocacy is making a difference.

YOUR VOICE BELONGS AT THE CAPITOL

On June 16, childcare providers from across Michigan will gather in Lansing for CPAOM's Capitol Impact Day, a grassroots advocacy event focused on bringing provider experiences directly to state lawmakers.

We understand that this event takes place during normal business hours, and for many providers, stepping away from their programs simply isn't possible. Unfortunately, effective Capitol advocacy must take place when legislators are in their offices and available to meet with constituents.

If you're able to attend, we would love to have you join us as we deliver impact statements, meet with lawmakers, and ensure the voices of Michigan's childcare providers are heard.

If you cannot attend, you can still participate.

Use our Raise Your Voice Impact Statement Generator to share how current policy decisions affect your program, your staff, and the families you serve:
🔗 https://www.cpaom.org/raiseyourvoice-cdc

Every impact statement submitted through the generator will be printed and physically delivered to lawmakers during Capitol Impact Day.

Whether you're joining us in Lansing or sharing your story from home, your voice matters. Together, we can help policymakers better understand the realities facing Michigan's childcare providers.

Register today:
🔗 https://www.cpaom.org/event-details/cpaom-capitol-impact-day

Michigan childcare providers are facing proposed changes to the CDC reimbursement structure that could significantly impact programs, staffing stability, and families’ access to care.

CPAOM has launched a new Raise Your Voice Impact Statement Generator to help providers quickly create personalized advocacy statements about how these proposed changes would affect their program and community.

Lawmakers need to hear directly from providers doing this work every day. Your experience matters, and your voice carries weight.

Use the generator here:
https://www.cpaom.org/raiseyourvoice-cdc

This free virtual event is happening next Tuesday!

Join us to learn more about Michigan legislative, regulatory, and budgetary movements impacting childcare providers across the state.

https://www.cpaom.org/event-details/provider-action-webinar-capitol-insights

Michigan Provider Action Webinar: Capitol Insights

Michigan childcare providers deserve clear information about the proposed shift from enrollment-based CDC reimbursements to attendance-based reimbursements, what conversations are happening in Lansing, and what may be ahead for our industry.

Join CPAOM and MainStreet Legislative Consulting for an important provider advocacy webinar featuring on-the-ground legislative insight from Jared Rodriguez of MainStreet Legislative Consulting Services.

We’ll discuss:
• What is currently being proposed
• What we are hearing from lawmakers and leadership
• Potential impacts for providers
• What advocacy efforts are underway
• How providers can help make their voices heard

📅 June 2
🕡 6:30 PM
💻 Virtual Webinar

Understanding the proposal.
Elevating provider voices.
Preparing for what comes next.

Registration: https://www.cpaom.org/event-details/provider-action-webinar-capitol-insights

This week, lawmakers are gathering at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. This longstanding Michigan tradition brings together local and national voices from both sides of the aisle to discuss the economic policy initiatives that will shape the state budget and priorities heading into the next fiscal year.

While we have heard that House leadership views the proposed CDC reimbursement structure change as a keystone priority, we remain hopeful that this week creates opportunities for thoughtful, civil discussion that bridges the need for fiscal responsibility with the lived realities of providers across Michigan.

As lawmakers return from the conference and budget discussions continue to evolve, we anticipate gaining additional clarity in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, we are deeply grateful to the providers who have already submitted impact statements to CPAOM.

If you have not yet shared your personal story about how attendance-based CDC reimbursements would affect your business, we strongly encourage you to do so by emailing [email protected]. These statements will be brought directly to lawmakers at the Capitol as part of our ongoing advocacy efforts.

Child Care Legislative Update

Yesterday, SB 310–313 were referred to the House Committee on Families and Veterans after advancing from the Senate.

The package includes proposals related to:
• subsidy reimbursement indexing
• Tri-Share child care expansion
• provider appeals processes
• fire safety and investigation procedures

While movement into the House is procedurally important, referral to committee does not guarantee advancement.

At present, the House majority has signaled a strong focus on oversight, fraud prevention, and structural changes within the child care system. That political environment may create significant headwinds for provider-focused funding and reimbursement proposals this session.

CPAOM will continue monitoring committee activity, substitute language, and any amendments that could affect provider operations, compliance obligations, or reimbursement systems.

An Important Update on the Requested CDC Audit

In January of 2026, Senator Aric Nesbitt formally requested an audit of Michigan’s Child Development and Care (CDC) program following allegations of fraud involving individual childcare providers in Minnesota. In correspondence with CPAOM, those allegations were directly referenced as the basis for the request.

More recently, Speaker Matt Hall referenced this same pending audit when explaining why House leadership is pushing to move Michigan from enrollment-based CDC reimbursement to attendance-based reimbursement.

Originally, the Auditor General’s website listed this audit as beginning, and even completing, in March 2026.

Today, that information is gone.

There is currently:
• No listed start date
• No listed completion date
• No publicly identified audit objectives

CPAOM has reached out multiple times to the Office of the Auditor General requesting clarification and updates regarding the status of this audit. At this time, we have not received a response.

This matters because the proposed CDC reimbursement changes are not happening in isolation. The rationale being used to support them is directly tied to this unresolved audit process.

In other words:

Michigan childcare providers are being asked to prepare for major structural changes to CDC reimbursement based on a problem that is suspected, but whose scope has not yet been publicly identified.

That uncertainty has real consequences for providers already operating on thin margins while serving families in communities across the state.

We want providers to know:
CPAOM is actively engaged in these conversations. We are asking questions behind the scenes. We are speaking directly with policymakers and stakeholders. And we will continue pushing for clarity, transparency, and practical policy solutions that reflect the realities of operating childcare programs in Michigan.

Providers deserve answers before sweeping changes are made.

We’re in the room, and we intend to remain in the room.

We welcome providers who want a voice in these conversations to join us:
https://www.cpaom.org/membership