• Ensure that Michigan’s Children can maintain a high level of visibility for its brand.
• Ensure that any affiliation does not negatively impact Michigan’s Children’s ability to pursue and receive funding.
• Determine current funders willingness to continue funding any affiliative relationships.
• Confirm the quality of MAUW back office services and that savings in operating costs will be sustained over multiple years.
• Ensure that any co-location or affiliation agreements include an annual review by both parties.

Michele Corey, Interim President and CEO

Michigan’s Children: An Independent Voice for Children, Youth and Families
Then, Now and Into the Future

May 14, 2013 - Since 1993, Michigan’s Children has served as the state’s only statewide, multi-issue advocacy organization focused solely on public policy in the best interest of children from cradle to career and their families.  

Over the course of the last 20 years, we have celebrated many victories for children in our state.  We have also seen setbacks and watched racial and ethnic disparities increase. Strong policy advocacy efforts are more essential now than ever before if children, youth and families in Michigan are to have equitable access and opportunities to
thrive.

The past year has been one of significant changes for Michigan’s Children. In response to financial challenges, the Board committed to an intensive process of assessing our purpose, unique value and support from partners and funders.  

With generous support from the C.S. Mott, W.K. Kellogg, Kresge and Gerstacker foundations, Michigan’s Children formed a Transition Task Force of some of the best organizational thinkers around the state to guide the assessment process.  This work was completed in late March 2013 after evaluating the landscape of policy advocacy, the unique value Michigan’s Children provides and the strength of our “brand” as well as the viability of the organization.

During several months of research, analysis and discussion, the Task Force found that Michigan’s Children provides a unique and much needed set of policy advocacy services within Michigan’s policy advocacy landscape.  And, it recommended reorganizing and refocusing our work to ensure maximum investment in policy advocacy activities and the most efficient use of financial resources in support of those. In response, on July 1, 2013, our offices will move to shared space with Michigan Association of United Ways, our long-term and valued state-level advocacy partner – continuing to strengthen our inter-related work on behalf of children and families in our state.

On behalf of the Board and staff, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Task Force members for their voluntary service, commitment to vulnerable children in our state and for their expert guidance. 

What’s Next on Our Agenda?

Michigan’s Children has a full agenda of urgent policy work.  Our staff: Mina Hong, Senior Policy Associate; and Kali Montgomery, Web and Office Manager, are working with me to advocate for better public policy for kids and families.  Our mission – to be a trusted, independent voice working to reduce equity gaps in child outcomes from cradle to career through policy change – remains consistent as does our commitment to being an independent voice for children (we do not accept government funds and rely solely on donations from foundations, corporations and individuals to carry out our mission.)

This is no time to slow down or to turn our backs on the issues facing our state’s children, youth and families.  Michigan still faces significant challenges:

• Family poverty is increasing – 1 of every 4 Michigan children under age 6 lives in poverty.
• Child abuse and neglect is increasing – Michigan saw a 28% increase in confirmed victims between 2005 and 2011.
• Only a third of Michigan 3rd graders are proficient readers.
• Too many young people fail to graduate from high school – one quarter of all high school freshmen don’t graduate four years later.
• Children and families of color continue to be more challenged in all of these areas.

Michele Corey, Interim President and CEO, reflects on Michigan’s Children’s transitioning work over the last year and the reaffirmation of the critical need for effective policy advocacy cradle to career.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder made a huge step in a healthier direction for the state when he proposed to expand Medicaid access to Michigan residents by taking advantage of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Though this expansion specifically covers adults in Michigan, it has significant implications for children and families in Michigan and the well-being of Michigan's lowest-income families.  Learn more about Medicaid expansion, how it will help children and families, and what the current proposal being debated is in our latest Budget Basics fact sheet.

FY2014 Investments in Early Childhood in Michigan: Points of Difference to be Negotiated in Conference Committee (5/17/2013)

The House and Senate have approved all of their budget bills for fiscal year 2014.  As anticipated, the House rolled up all of its budget bills into two omnibus bills – one for Education (HB 4228) and one for the department budgets (HB 4328).  The Senate kept each budget bill separately.  The House and Senate both included several amendments pertaining to young children coming out of subcommittees, so the final House and Senate approved budget bills are highlighted in this publication including differences that will be negotiated in conference committees like support for the Great Start Readiness Program, infant mortality, and lead abatement.

FY2014 Investments in Youth in Michigan: Points of Difference to be Negotiated in Conference Committee (5/17/2013)

The House and Senate have approved all of their budget bills for fiscal year 2014.  As anticipated, the House rolled up all of its budget bills into two omnibus bills – one for Education (HB 4228) and one for the department budgets (HB 4328).  The Senate kept each budget bill separately.  The House and Senate both included several amendments pertaining to youth coming out of subcommittees, so the final House and Senate approved budget bills are highlighted in this publication including differences that will be negotiated in conference committees like support for online learning, mental health supports for youth, and school-community partnerships.

The Fiscal Year 2014 Budget: How the Different Proposals Impact Equity to Ensure All Children Are Ready to Learn & Lead (Update: 5/17/2013)

The single best predictor of economic prosperity is a state’s success in educating and preparing its workforce.  As Michigan becomes more diverse, funding decisions that do not explicitly address underlying inequities in resource and opportunity will lead to longer-term fiscal hardships for all Michigan residents.  The Governor, House, and Senate have proposed some differences in their budgets for fiscal year 2014 that will have varying impacts on reducing disparities in child and family outcomes.  This publication provides Michigan’s Children’s analysis of how their differing proposals will impact equity.

The President is proposing a groundbreaking plan to support high-quality early learning opportunities for children birth to age five.  The President’s budget calls for significant new investments to expand access to and improve the quality of child care and early education programs that help children enter school ready to succeed and help parents work.  The plan involves a multi-pronged approach that includes a new initiative to make high-quality preschool available to all four-year-olds in low- and moderate-income families; new partnerships between Early Head Start and child care providers to provide high-quality, full-day/full-year early learning opportunities for infant and toddlers; voluntary home visiting to support vulnerable families; and increased funding for child care and other existing programs related to early care and education.

The President's budget also acknowledges investments for disadvantaged and disconnected youth.  Specifically, the budget supports older youth through support for Workforce Investment Youth Activities, an expansion of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Performance Partnership Pilots designed to improve outcomes for disconnected youth and young adults, and a new college and career readiness competitive grant effort.  The proposal contains some new resource for Project Prevent – a new school-based initiative to prevent violence, but cuts $50 million to school-based health centers.  While taking a step in the direction of equity, as has been done in the past several years, much of the increased investment are for smaller, competitive programs that will not serve the most challenged young people, and don’t adequately reflect the need in the most challenged communities.

See resources from Michigan's Children's national friends on the FY2014 budget proposals and what it means for children and families:

• The White House's Overview of the President's FY2014 Budget Proposal
• First Focus on the President's Budget Proposal Compared to the House and Senate Budget Proposals
• National Women's Law Center on President Obama's Early Learning Plan
• CLASP on President's Obama's Budget and Its Impact on Disconnected Youth

In March and early April, the House and Senate Subcommittees approved their budgets for fiscal year 2014.  The Subcommittees made some changes from the Governor's budget proposal, including a rejection of Medicaid Expansion for adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, as well as making changes to online learning opportunities, the K-12 foundation allowance, best practices incentives, and juvenile justice facilities.  The House Appropriations Committee adopted all of the budget bills as approved by the Subcommittees with no amendments to the budget.  The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the budget bills the week of April 15, 2013.

House & Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Pass Fiscal Year 2014 Budgets: What It Means for Young Children and Their Families in Michigan (4/15/2013)

In March and early April, the House and Senate Subcommittees approved their budgets for fiscal year 2014.  The Subcommittees made some changes from the Governor's budget proposal, including a rejection of Medicaid Expansion for adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, as well as some policy and funding changes to the Great Start Readiness Preschool Program.  The House Appropriations Committee adopted all of the budget bills as approved by the Subcommittees with no amendments to the budget.  The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the budget bills the week of April 15, 2013.

Medicaid Expansion in Michigan: Quick Facts on What It Means for Children, Youth and Families (04/2013)

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder made a huge step in a healthier direction for the state when he proposed to expand Medicaid access to Michigan residents by taking advantage of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Though this expansion specifically covers adults in Michigan, it has huge implications for children and families in Michigan and the well-being of Michigan's lowest-income families.  Learn more about Medicaid expansion, how it will help children and families, and what's currently at stake in our latest Budget Basics fact sheet.

Since the President’s State of the Union address, there have been many public debates about the value of early childhood programs. A timeline of events since mid-February shows how active this topic is. Many of you have asked for data and examples to use in educating leaders on the benefits of early childhood interventions. Below are a variety of new tools, articles, briefs and blog posts, especially from leading economists, to help you present the full picture. Please continue to send your pieces to us, and we will disseminate to help others speak out.

We urge you to engage your business networks to publicly declare their support for early childhood in the media. Hooks you might use include:

•Recent data on high school graduation rates and how early childhood is essential to improving that key outcome
•The ongoing need to build the future workforce
•The perspective from a business person that s/he often makes investments with less data than exist now for early childhood
•The fact that 14 governors–Republicans and Democrats–have introduced specific improvements to early childhood services in their State of the State addresses or other public presentations (see timeline of events)

Capitalists for Preschool - New York Times Opinion 

John E. Pepper, former chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble as well as a former chairman of the Walt Disney Company, and James M. Zimmerman, former chairman and chief executive at Macy's, wrote an opinion piece in the March 1, 2013 issue of the New York Times, "Capitalists for Preschool." In this piece the case for why business supports early education is laid out, citing the increase in kindergarten readiness and return on investment of high-quality programs. In addition, the authors mention ReadyNation's work in amplifying the business voice.

Getting the Facts Right on Pre-K - New NIEER Report 

The National Institute for Early Education Research published a new report, "Getting the Facts Right on Pre–K and the President's Pre–K Proposal" and a two-page summary which specifically address the current criticisms in the public sphere: 

•Does high-quality pre–K have lasting benefits?
•What is the evidence for the $7 to $1 return on investment for preschool?
•Do non–disadvantaged children benefit from pre–K, and is a targeted or a universal approach to preschool more effective?
•Are large–scale public pre–K programs, including Head Start, effective?

Dr. James Heckman, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics 

Dr. James Heckman, professor at the University of Chicago and 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics, has been active in voicing his support for expanding access to early education to the media. The New York Times Room for Debate featured several voices on early education, including Dr. Heckman's. He previously appeared on the February 18, 2013 episode of the Diane Rehm show to debate in favor of preschool. In late 2012, the Boston Review posted an article, "Final Response: Aiding the Life Cycle" which responds to several criticisms of early interventions. As always, the Heckman Equation remains a repository for new resources on early education.

Economist Tim Bartik's Investing in Kids Blog 

Tim Bartik, senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and author of Investing in Kids: Early Childhood Programs and Local Economic Development, has written several pieces for his personal blog in which he responds to several recent media articles that have cited inaccuracies about early education. These include:

•Responding to the Wall Street Journal editorial on preschool expansion – March 1, 2013
•An analysis of Charles Murray's critique of Obama's proposal for expanded pre–K – February 26, 2013
•What do we know about Head Start's effectiveness? – February 25, 2013
•Fact–checking FactCheck on preschool – February 21, 2013
•NPR's spin on universal preschool is unduly negative – February 18, 2013
•Why Head Start should be improved, not defunded – March 23, 2011

Bartik will continue to update his blog, and anticipates further blog posts responding to inaccuracies in the media. You can read his blog at www.investinginkids.net.

Early Childhood Education "Fade Out" in Context - Rob Grunewald, Federal Reserve Economist 

One of the common arguments against early education is the idea that all benefits "fade out" shortly after the program ends. In a February 8, 2013 presentation Rob Grunewald of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis explains the idea of this fade out, as well as describing what benefits continue past the early years of school, and into adulthood.

ReadyNation and America's Promise Respond to President Obama's Early Childhood Proposal 

In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a sweeping new plan for expanding early education to more children, citing the return to this investment. On February 14th, the White House released the proposal for increased access. Click here to view our response to this proposal.