A first-of-its-kind millage request on the August ballot to strengthen child care in Kalamazoo County

Editor’s Note: All photos were taken by Fran Dwight.

Millage requests in Kalamazoo County are nothing new, but one that appears on the August primary ballot is a first-of-its-kind to address the childcare needs of the county’s youngest residents.

In June, a broad coalition of community advocates launched the “Yes for Families” campaign to strengthen childcare in Kalamazoo County through a millage request that creates long-term local funding for child care designed to lower costs for families and support a more stable workforce, says a press release from campaign organizers.

Organizers are asking voters to cast their ballots in favor of a 0.5 millage request, which will raise $6.4 million in its first year to establish a dedicated, long-term local funding stream for child care in Kalamazoo County. The millage would cost average households about $50 per year and be in place for eight years, from 2027 through 2034, says Jen Stroven, Campaign Manager for “Yes for Families.“

This millage rate is “comparable to the rate of other millages in Kalamazoo County, falling somewhere between millages for seniors and housing,” she says. “It’s also what the County Commissioners were willing to support, and polling also concluded it would be a reasonable rate for consideration.”

Concerning future potential philanthropic support, Stroven says there are various “models” that could be considered.

“First and foremost, organizations receiving millage funds could be eligible for new grants created by area foundations to support the goals of the millage, essentially coming alongside the millage to further strengthen child care providers.”

If approved by voters in August, the millage would help lower out-of-pocket costs for families, stabilize and expand the child care workforce, and increase access to quality care across the county.

“There is mounting awareness of the burdens families are faced with and that we are incredibly undervaluing childcare professionals in our lives,” Stroven says. “The traditional role of caretaking has always been undervalued. It’s not valued in our society.”

Childcare workers in Michigan earn an average wage ranging between $14.00 and $16.30 per hour, which translates to an annual salary of roughly $29,000 to $34,000. Pay varies heavily based on location, experience, and certifications, according to ZipRecruiter.

The high end of this annual pay scale represents individuals living at close to 225 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2025, Maria Ortiz Borden, Co-Executive Director of Pulse, said, “This is not a livable wage. Some of them have the same credentials as a teacher and make the decision to go where they can earn more and have better benefits.”

This exodus came to light in 2021 In March, when the National Women’s Law Center estimated the child-care industry had lost 172,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic. 

Stroven says money raised through the millage request is going to benefit the County’s Childcare Professionals, which will likely encourage them to remain in this field.

“I really believe that changing this piece and us giving a small part of our tax base is going to be life-changing for our childcare workers,” she says.

In November, 2025, the state of Michigan launched a pilot program — the Early Childhood Educator Wage Initiative —through MiLEAP to give more than 2,500 Early Childhood Educators (ECE) throughout the state monthly stipends of $200 if they were part-time and $300 if they were full-time. Stroven says the Michigan Transformation Coalition of which the Kalamazoo Childcare Coalition is a part, has said that this money is making a major positive difference for ECE professionals.

In Kalamazoo County, there are more than 200 licensed childcare facilities, with the majority being home-based, and more than 1,000 ECE’s, Stroven says.

The Wage Initiative, which is temporary, was seeded with $16 million and is expected to run through September 2027.

In addition to helping ECE professionals, the stipends also are benefiting families because they aren’t as likely to face increasing costs for childcare.

On average in Michigan, it costs about $20,000 per child (an estimated $21,021 for infants and toddlers and $20,814 for preschoolers) per year to provide high-quality care in home-based programs, according to a needs assessment conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The assessment found costs to be lower in center-based programs—estimated to be $17,629 for infants and toddlers and as low as $11,410 for preschoolers.

“Typically, families pay more for center-based care than for home-based care, but the true cost of providing high-quality care is higher in home-based,” says AIR.

For married-couple families, childcare costs are between 11 percent and 12 percent of the median household income of $103,000. For single-parent families, the percentage spent on childcare is 39 percent of their median income, Stroven says.

Federal guidelines state that childcare is considered affordable when it accounts for no more than 7% of household income; however, this percentage is the exception, not the norm, Stroven says.

Dual-wage-earning couples who can’t afford childcare look at other options, including having their parents look after their children, Stroven says.

“There are a lot of grandparents out there who are providing childcare because their kids can’t afford it,” she says. A support group for these grandparents is offered at Kalamazoo’s First Congregational Church.

However, not all parents have their parents living nearby, especially those with young families who are moving into Kalamazoo County. Stroven says these families will need safe, affordable, quality childcare and the assurance that their children will be well cared for while they’re at work.

Yet another reason she hopes the millage is passed.

“The amazing thing is that the history of local millages has been really effective in Kalamazoo.”