Michigan presenter outlines Tri Share child-care cost‑sharing model to commission

Shannon Garrett, senior program advisor for the Tri Share Program for the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, told the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission that My Tri Share "is a program. It's a public private partnership" that "splits the cost of an employee's childcare equally between the employer, the employee, and the state of Michigan." Garrett joined the commission by videoconference and outlined the program's history, eligibility rules, administrative structure and early evaluation results.

The program began as a FY2021 pilot funded by a $1,100,000 appropriation and expanded in later budgets, Garrett said. Subsequent state appropriations and private foundation contributions let Michigan grow the pilot from three regions into multiple regions and then toward a statewide approach. Garrett said the program moved administratively from regional hubs to a single statewide administrative partner, the United Way of Northwest Michigan, which now processes applications, collects employer and employee contributions and pays providers.

Garrett said the program targets households she described using the ALICE (asset‑limited, income‑constrained, employed) framework and sets eligibility at roughly 200 to 325 percent of the federal poverty line; families under 200 percent are referred to the Child…