Governor signs Wakeman’s child care legislation into law

State Rep. Rodney Wakeman’s plan to improve access to affordable child care in Michigan is now law.

Wakeman, of Frankenmuth, said the reforms provide the flexibility and support needed to help new child-care providers get started and encourage established providers to stay in business – while still prioritizing the safety of Michigan children.

“Over the last decade, we have had a situation where longtime child-care providers were closing and the regulatory environment was making it incredibly hard for new businesses to get started,” said Wakeman, who chairs the House Committee on Families, Children and Seniors. “It was time to make some common-sense reforms to remove unnecessary red tape and encourage growth.”

State research has shown that 75 percent of children in Michigan live in areas with limited access to child care. In addition, 10 Michigan counties do not currently have licensed slots at centers that serve children younger than 30 months. 

A 2019 report by the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance detailed the key factors that have led to the decreasing number of in-home providers across the country, finding an extensive number of regulations, start-up and operational expenses, and low compensation rates for providers to be the main barriers.

The new laws, Public Acts 106 to 113 of 2022:

• Offer enhanced reporting and more concise regulation to let high-quality providers thrive while bad actors are held accountable.
• Expand access in areas where families live and work by offering a safe path for providers to utilize multi-use buildings.
• Help parents access health and safety information by allowing providers to share certain records online.

“Parents are struggling to find affordable child care they can trust – and it is preventing too many people from returning to the workforce after they start a family,” Wakeman said. “By creating an environment where child-care facilities and in-home providers can thrive, we will make it easier for families to access reliable and affordable care for their kids.”

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