How Universal Early Childhood Education and Care (UECEC) Addresses Each Set of Struggles

Our purpose is to bring Michigan together around a bold, evidence-based plan: Universal Early Childhood Education and Care (UECEC, pronounced yoo-sek for short) as a guaranteed right for every child and family in the state. Michigan faces well-documented crises in K-12 education, childcare, and persistent poverty. The state ranks 44th

Michigan ranks 44th in K–12 education, with 75% of 3rd and 8th graders not proficient in reading or math. Seventy percent of ZIP codes are childcare deserts. Early educators earn just $13–14 an hour—30% less than K–2 teachers—fueling severe shortages and turnover. Women’s workforce participation is among the nation’s lowest,

MIKidsReady proposes a balanced, three-pillar funding formula to build a quality, education-focused early childhood system for Michigan. Pillar one: a 3% investment contribution on taxable income above
500,000 for single filers and 1 million for joint filers, generating approximately 1–1.1 billion annually from only the highest-income households. Pillar two:

Michigan now has a detailed, evidence-based picture of what universal early childhood education and care truly costs. The Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis commissioned by Hope Starts Here and Think Babies Michigan finds that the state needs approximately $3.5 billion annually to fund a high-quality, mixed-delivery system serving children from birth to

The $3.5 billion gross cost of universal early childhood education and care is not the net cost to Michigan. Program consolidation alone—reducing fragmented childcare subsidies, emergency assistance tied to unstable care, and extensive K–12 tutoring for unprepared kindergartners—yields hundreds of millions in annual savings. Universal ECEC creates thousands of living-wage

Michigan has two paths to place a universal early childhood education and care constitutional amendment on the ballot. Option one: a legislature-referred amendment requiring two-thirds supermajority approval in both chambers. The House has 110 members, so 74 votes are needed. The Senate has 38 members, so 26 votes are needed.

Michigan can no longer afford another study, pilot program, or cautious conversation about “considering” universal early childhood education and care. The system is failing children, families, and communities—and the consequences of inaction grow more severe each year. Early childhood organizations hold the credibility, expertise, and moral authority to lead. They

What makes MIKidsReady’s plan unique is that it tackles three of Michigan’s most urgent challenges at the same time: the childcare crisis keeping parents out of the workforce, the K-12 readiness crisis that begins long before kindergarten, and the deep urban poverty that persists across generations. No other comprehensive statewide