Office of Policy & Legislative Affairs
An Online Resource for Skilled Immigrants
Licensing Resources for Veterans
Child Care Licensing
Construction Codes
Community and Health Systems
Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau.
Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules
Professional Licensing
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
Caring for MI Future is a statewide effort to help child care entrepreneurs open 1,000 new or expanded child care programs by the end of 2024. This initiative, led by the Michigan Departments of Education and Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (MDE & LARA) is focusing on what entrepreneurs need most to open and expand child care businesses—help finding and renovating space, startup funding, help recruiting staff, and support creating a business plan.
Learn more about the opportunities available to child care entrepreneurs with the new Caring for MI Future Toolkit, that helps you navigate the grants, resources and supports available through the Caring for MI Future project!
The Caring for MI Future Implementation Team is working hard to support child care entrepreneurs throughout Michigan to open and expand their child care businesses, and to sustain their businesses long into the future. The following spreadsheets (which are updated monthly) highlight some of the projects and the counties where Caring for MI Future investments have been made:
In alignment with the goal of ensuring all children have access to high quality early learning experiences, The Caring for MI Future Urgent and High Needs Map was created to illustrate the known child care needs across the state in September 2022, using available data about staff shortage, the number of children competing for an available slot and child poverty rates for each county in Michigan.
An additional Child Care Desert Map and Chart have been created by MSU based on the census and LARA databases to show areas with potential “child care desert” issues at the county and zip code level.
Our Strong Start has a team of trained Navigators ready to support child care entrepreneurs in understanding and navigating the state child care licensing process. They are available to answer questions and to provide information about resources and training opportunities within the child care system.
Child care businesses need access to affordable, licensable spaces to care for kids. $50 million in grant funding is available for minor renovations and improvements to facilities (both indoor and outdoor) to meet licensing and quality standards.
Cashflow is an ongoing challenge for child care businesses, especially new sites that must incur costs well before they have revenue. These investments will provide funds to assist with these gaps.
Entrepreneurs can’t open and expand their businesses if they can’t hire staff. These funds will continue our statewide effort to recruit, train, and retain talented early educators that live and work in the communities they serve.
Many new businesses benefit from support from the state and their community to assess market demands, identify space, comply with health and safety rules and to create a sustainable business plan. These funds will align resources to make the startup and licensing process clearer and faster for providers.
The best way to get started is to talk to a Navigator. They can help you start the licensing process, troubleshoot any challenges you’re facing, and connect you with grants. Just complete this simple form, and we’ll call you within 48 hours.
Do you have other questions? Please complete this inquiry form and a Navigator will contact you within 48 hours.
