Our Purpose and Mission
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 in K-12 education. Too many children enter kindergarten already behind. Too many families cannot find or afford childcare. Too many early educators earn poverty wages. And too many communities experience generational poverty without a pathway out. The evidence from other states is clear. Mississippi expanded early learning collaboratives and saw gains in 4th-grade reading and math. Louisiana’s pre-K program produced higher kindergarten readiness, higher graduation rates at 88 percent, and 45 percent fewer special education placements. New Mexico lifted 120,000 families out of poverty in its first year of early childhood investment. Michigan can fix K-8 education, high school curriculum, literacy, and chronic absenteeism by fixing early childhood education first. That is MIKidsReady’s mission.
Beyond the Base: Why Child Care Matters to Republican Voters Too
New polling from the Bipartisan Policy Center and Cygnal reveals a significant shift in voter sentiment, positioning child care as a powerful, bipartisan issue. While often viewed through a partisan lens, the research shows that three-quarters of Republican primary voters now view child care as a serious problem for families. This concern is driving a demand for legislative action, with 72% urging Congress to reduce the financial burden of care. The data suggests that the conversation around child care is evolving from a niche social policy into a core economic and workforce necessity, creating a meaningful opportunity for federal and state lawmakers to collaborate on pro-family, pro-work solutions.