An action team is formed, comprised of NCMC Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator Jennifer Wixson, Research Program Coordinators Laura Tuthill and Jen Harris, and Data Analyst Karen Kling.

Community input collected from surveys, focus groups and interviews informed a proposed set of evidence- and community-based innovations that address the following impact areas.

5 Impact Areas:

1. 1. Affordability of care
   2. Accessibility of care
   3. Capacity of the local child care network
   4. Workforce opportunities and increased wages for new/existing child care workers
   5. Quality of care for all children

Planning, research and outreach work is conducted to thoroughly vet the proposed innovations for potential impact and feasibility, and to assure alignment and optimal phasing across each. Innovations that addressed two or more of the impacts listed above were prioritized, along with innovations that could be managed and financially maintained long-term.

Key findings from Phase I can be found in the report and include:

• We collected survey responses from 96 business leaders, 271 parents and prospective parents, and 25 child care providers who live or work in Emmet County. Results show the multifaceted nature of child care issues in the region and the willingness of partners across community groups to work together toward a solution.
• Families with young children are struggling to find the child care they need to support parents’ work schedules. When parents find child care, it is often too expensive and not always the desired quality.
• Child care issues have translated into workplace challenges, with employers recognizing that the lack of available child care has hampered their business’ productivity, growth, and ability to recruit and retain staff.
• Working parents and employers agree that parents’ ability to meet child care needs impacts the local economy. They also agree that Emmet County businesses can and should participate in a solution to the child care crisis.
• Data from child care providers indicate that low child care availability is inextricably linked to low wages and the lack of benefits for care providers. Fortunately, it seems employers are largely willing to join government leaders, nonprofits, and other advocates in the effort to actualize a vision for a local child care system where parents can find and afford quality care and at the same time, child care providers can receive the compensation they deserve.

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Phase II is focused on Concept 1: True Cost Fiscal Solutions. These three innovations include the Living Wage Salary Scale and Career Pathway, Employer Engagement Strategies, and building the Proof of Concept, the NCMC Early Learning Center.

Living Wage Salary Scale and Career Pathway

The Child Care Initiative (CCI)  at North Central Michigan College (NCMC) is addressing the largest issues in the childcare system head-on. The Living Wage Salary Scale for Early Childhood Professionals in Emmet County, MI is one of the three innovations currently being explored by the CCI team at NCMC. Each of these three innovations is directly linked to the core concept of True-Cost Fiscal Solutions. A true-cost fiscal model, in early childhood education, is one representative of the true cost of care, which includes wages and benefits that align with the cost of living. The other two innovations are piloting employer engagement strategies to help offset the cost of child care for working families, and building a proof of concept, a child care center on the campus of North Central Michigan College, that utilizes the living wage salary scale and employer engagement strategies to build a sustainable true-cost business model.

A living wage salary scale defines expected earnings in a uniform way, and is comprised of a number of levels, with beginning and end points, that have clearly defined criteria (such as education, roles, and responsibilities). In this way, it promotes transparency and equity as well as a defined career pathway for moving up.

We will use this living wage salary scale with an accompanying assessment tool that outlines the core competencies of each role. Each competency will be rated on a scale using the indicators Beginning-Extending: The Beginning Level indicates a need for Knowledge specific to the role. The Developing Level incorporates Knowledge and Comprehension. The Achieving Level incorporates Application and some Analysis. The Extending Level incorporates Analysis and Synthesis. We envision this assessment tool as being used both by an employer during an annual review process, and by an employee as a self-assessment. We foresee this tool being integral both for understanding the professional goals of an employee, and the professional development required to meet those goals.

Employer Engagement

At North Central Michigan College, we are committed to supporting the child care needs of our community and local employers. Through strategic partnerships, we conduct comprehensive Child Care Landscape Assessments that identify employer goals, survey workforce needs, and analyze data to provide informed recommendations for improving child care services.

Our partners include organizations like Manthei, Circuit Controls Company, Irish Boat Shop, and North Central Michigan College, all working together to directly address workforce child care challenges and enhance the well-being of families in the region. Analyzing the data collected and the subsequent recommendations helps employers understand how to promote systematic changes that lead to accessible and equitable child care for their employees.

If you're an employer interested in collaborating with us to conduct a Child Care Landscape Assessment, please take a moment to complete this initial form. Your input will help us gather the information necessary to develop a tailored workforce survey, which is the first step of the process.

Complete the Child Care Landscape Assessment for Employers 

Proof of Concept

The North Central Michigan College Early Learning Center, opening in early 2025, will be located on the Petoskey Campus in the Early Childhood building on Howard Street. Once renovations are complete, the center will open and will be able to accommodate up to 12 children, ages 3 – 42 months. 

The North Central Michigan College Early Learning Center (ELC) is a Reggio-inspired center that partners with children, families, and the community to provide an inquiry-based education for young learners in a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment. We encourage young minds to ask questions, think creatively, collaborate and construct knowledge through play-based experiences. Our program meets children’s social, physical, emotional, and cognitive needs through a holistic approach to child development. The program fosters curiosity, theory building and problem solving through play, inspiring children to construct their own knowledge of the world. We are committed to creating a high-quality and dynamic educational experience that empowers children to explore their environment as they gain a lifelong love of learning.

The ELC will also demonstrate a “true cost” fiscal model. CCI’s Phase I research revealed that many family child care owners do not pay themselves a set salary based on their true business costs. Rather, their rates reflect the “going rate” in the community, which is informally regarded as what families can afford to pay. The result is a business model that drastically undervalues home-based providers and their employees. The NCMC Child Care and Preschool Program will demonstrate the feasibility and viability of a true cost fiscal model. Ensuring living wages, benefits, and a predictable salary scale is critical to sustaining and growing our local child care system.

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Phase III of the initiative is the long-term sustainability plan: creating the Center for Innovations in Early Care and Education housed at NCMC. The Center for Innovations in Early Care and Education will provide the mechanism for scaling the local innovations to other communities in our region and throughout the state. These innovations will serve as models of success, examples of quality solutions, and evidence that local, community-based solutions are the most sustainable. The Center for Innovations also has the potential to serve as the facilitator for the many initiatives and solutions that the community pursues, including connecting parents, employers, and providers.