State fiscal analyst: child-care funding at MILEAP will need more general fund support after federal carryforward ends

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and Community Colleges heard on Oct. 12 that the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MILEAP) will need additional state general fund support in fiscal 2026 to maintain current child-care eligibility rules.

Noel Benson, a fiscal analyst with the House Fiscal Agency, told the panel that MILEAP’s total budget for fiscal year 2024–25 is about $643.9 million and is “almost entirely federal and general fund.” Benson said roughly 79% of the department’s budget is federal funding and 21% is state general fund; smaller amounts are restricted and private funds.

Benson said 91% of MILEAP’s funding supports the Office of Early Childhood Education (about $584.2 million), and roughly $499 million of that is for the Child Development and Care (CDAC) scholarship, the state’s…