NCMC child care initiative receives more than $600K in funding
PETOSKEY — More child care options may be coming to Northern Michigan, with North Central Michigan College's Child Care Initiative entering its second phase after receiving more than $600,000 in grants to establish a child care and preschool program.
The initiative, which is working to develop a sustainable, community-centered child care system in Emmet County, will be able to continue its work after receiving a federal grant, as well as funding from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and the Emmet County Board of Commissioners.
The only awardee in Michigan, the U.S. Department of Education's Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program awarded NCMC with a $490,569 grant, expanding child care access for students who are parents with infants and toddlers.
NCMC was one of 34 national recipients of CCAMPIS grant money. The grant is renewable for up to four years and funds can be used to subsidize student parents' child care costs in the short term.
“Attending college while raising young children is no easy feat,” NCMC early childhood education program coordinator and head of the CCI Jennifer Wixson said in a press release. “Parents face a unique set of circumstances that affect their academic persistence and completion. Our first step will be identifying who our student parents are so that we can connect them with resources to support them on their path toward graduation.”
The Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation awarded the college a two-year $100,000 grant. The grant is in support of the college's Child Care Initiatives Phase II process as well, including the establishment of the NCMC Child Care and Preschool program, which is a four classroom proof-of-concept prototype built on a true-cost business model, according to the release.
“Child care is a critical need in our community,” said David Jones, the executive director of the community foundation. “We are pleased to continue our support of North Central’s dedicated initiative to find solutions that are sustainable.”
The Emmet County Board of Commissioners also serve as a local partner, with the board unanimously approving a $50,000 funding request at their meeting on Nov. 16. The funds will be used to support the engagement of employer partners in the child care and preschool program.
The first phase of the program included research that found many family child care owners do not pay themselves a set salary based on their true to business costs, but rather set rates based on what families can afford to pay, resulting in a business model that undervalues home-based providers and their employees, Wixson said in the release.
More: Emmet County OKs financial support for NCMC child care initiative
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The goal of the NCMC Child Care and Preschool Program is to demonstrate the feasibility of a true cost fiscal model, Wixson added.
The program's objective also has plans to enable student parents to pursue educational goals while being assured their children are in a safe environment, using a sliding-fee scale and priority enrollment while modeling the use of various funding streams, providing tangible evidence of the college's commitment to student welfare, and promoting cognitive, emotional and social development as a foundation and increasing the capacity of child care opportunities.
For more information on the NCMC Child Care Initiative, visit ncmich.edu/cci.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: NCMC child care initiative receives more than $600K in funding
