Fresh Off A Banner Year, Leelanau Children's Center Wants To Help Address Northern Michigan's Child Care Crisis

A windfall of cash, a bevy of new teachers and classroom aides, an expanded food program, and a new playground: From looking at these 2023 highlights at the Leelanau Children’s Center (LCC), one might assume that child care in Leelanau County now has relative stability. But according to LCC Executive Director Heidi Kruse, even a good year can’t erase the numerous crises facing the world of early childhood education locally and beyond. And with pandemic-era funding for child care providers disappearing, Kruse says its going to take a village to keep those providers and the families they support afloat in 2024.

“Post-pandemic, what has really saved the child care industry in Michigan were the child care stabilization grants,” Kruse says. “For the past few years, there was federal funding that really stabilized child care, and we were basically able to keep our doors open because of those funds. Now, that stabilization money is gone.”

Money from the federal government’s $24 billion Child Care Stabilization Grant Program did indeed run out at the end of September, and despite a push to extend the funding – including from the White House, which credited the program with “helping mothers return to work” – Congress has yet to agree to any measure that would keep the program alive. Speaking to the Traverse City Ticker in December, Norika Kida Betti – who leads the local Child Caring Now collaborative – said the loss of those federal funds would likely make 2024 an especially challenging year for building and maintaining northern Michigan’s child care infrastructure.

LCC, Kruse says, is insulated a bit from that fallout: As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the center has the option “to go out and raise that money,” and 2023 proved to be an especially fruitful year of fundraising at LCC. At its annual golf scramble in May, for instance, LCC netted more than $25,000. The organization also received a $163,000 bequest, which allowed LCC to put together a $40,000 matching grant as part of its annual “Leelanau Grown Feast & Fundraiser” in August; that event ultimately tallied a record $132,000 in contributions. Finally, LCC’s annual campaign – which kicks off at the end of each year and runs through January and February – had already raised more than $67,000 as of early January, “which is more than we’ve ever had for that campaign before,” Kruse says.

“We didn’t know what to expect [with this year’s annual campaign], because giving, nationally, is down,” Kruse tells the Leelanau Ticker. “After people were so generous at Leelanau Grown, we said to ourselves, ‘Gosh, I don’t know what the capacity is for the community to continue to support the Children’s Center.’ But we also know that, if they don’t our doors will not remain open, so we’re so grateful.”

The strong show of community support was just one part of what proved to be a very good year. Per a recent email newsletter, the organization “ushered in a suite of new, dedicated teachers and classroom aides,” even amidst a hiring crisis that is affecting nearly every industry. LCC was also able to expand its food program, which offers students three farm-to-table meals per day. The program is overseen by a full-time kitchen manager and involves students in the food prep process, so they can learn about healthy, locally-grown food, why it matters, how to prepare it, and how to incorporate it into their diets. 

Another big 2023 milestone: The completion of an extensive renovation to LCC’s front-yard playground, which Kruse says is now open for the entire community to use.

Despite the highlights, Kruse is quick to note running an early childhood education center in modern times is always an uphill battle.

“People don’t understand that, at virtually every child care in America, the cost to provide the care is more than it receives in tuition,” she says. “That’s the inherent, across-the-board problem in the industry. And it’s unique to our industry, too. No one else goes into business and says, ‘I have something to sell, but I’m going to sell it for less than it costs to make it.’”

In Kruse’s eyes, there’s only one solution to the “broken” aspects of the child care industry, and that’s a publicly-funded model that looks more like the nation’s public school system. In the meantime, though, she wants to make LCC into a community leader that can help other child care providers succeed and thrive.

“LCC wants to be a resource to other providers – or those looking to become providers – on how to build a developmentally appropriate program, as well as an example of the impact early childhood education has to our communities as a whole,” she says. “We need everyone to be involved, regardless of whether they have young children. Communities that support young children and their families are stronger. So, everybody's got to do their part to hit up their legislator and say, ‘Hey, listen, this is an important topic. You've got to figure it out. And you've got to continue helping these childcare providers stabilize.’”