Building on the successful model developed in Leelanau County in 2022, the Leelanau Early Childhood Development Commission (LECDC) announced in September that it received a grant of $400,000 from the state to establish new home-based child care businesses and help to expand existing childcare businesses in Grand Traverse and Benzie counties.
The new Infant and Child Care Start-Up (ITCS) Expansion program aims to expand access to quality, affordable child care working families in the region. The program focuses on increasing the availability of child care for mixed-age populations, or children ages zero to six, with an “emphasis on infants and toddlers ages 0-3, ensuring that families have the support they need to thrive, and that providers are able to earn a living wage.”
The ITCS Expansion program itself is made possible through a grant between the State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Leelanau Early Childhood Development Commission. The grant provides both financial and coaching support to providers, including start-up or child care program expansion expenses, training, business boot camp, and coaching in the areas of child care best practices, licensing, and business.
