Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Coalition urges Kalamazoo County to place childcare millage on the ballot as providers warn of imminent closures
Summary
A coalition of early‑childhood providers and advocates told the county board the local childcare system is in crisis — especially for infants and toddlers — and urged commissioners to place a voter-funded children's millage on the ballot to create dedicated local funding and stabilize the workforce.
Speakers from the Kalamazoo Child Care Coalition and local providers urged the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 to put a countywide childcare millage before voters to shore up infant and toddler care and raise wages for early childhood educators. Jay Kyon, director of community engagement at Michigan Transformation Collective, said the coalition’s data show “90% of Kalamazoo County ZIP codes are child care deserts for infants and toddlers,” and described a gap of 12,718 children versus 2,703 available slots.
Representatives from YWCA Kalamazoo and the coalition said the challenge is acute for families earning just above state subsidy…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
