Innovative childcare program expands in Leelanau

By Jacob Wheeler

Sun editor

One year ago the Leelanau Early Childhood Development Commission (LECDC) launched a campaign to recruit more people to open home-based childcare facilities in Leelanau County—where a dire lack of affordable childcare options has imperiled the ability of young parents to return to work.

Rhonda Mack’s home near Lake Leelanau, which hosts six children each weekday—two less than 18 months and the others between 2 and 3 years old—was the model for the LECDC, which received a grant of $318,000 from the private nonprofit Early Childhood Investment Corporation to grow the program and recruit as many as five more Leelanau citizens to help alleviate the childcare crisis.

The commission is well on its way to reach that goal. But it has also been forced to pivot and work with the state’s licensing agency to include centers outside the home, as well.

“You can’t drive down the street without seeing help-wanted signs,” said Patricia Soutas-Little, a former County Commissioner who chairs the LECDC and Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation. “This initiative targets the economic side and also provides important services for our families.”

Later this month Kriya and Matt Miller will open a childcare facility at their home near M-72 in Solon Township. The Millers, who have a 20-month-old son as well as a teenager, co-founded Human Nature School in Traverse City in 2010. They’ll employ a similar nature-based environment on their seven-acre property. Kriya learned of the opportunity on social media, and it gave her the nudge she needed.

The LECDC, working in tandem with the Leelanau Children’s Center and the Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation, helps with startup costs, including a personal and business coach, and guides participants through the complex world of childcare licensing and regulations. The grant helped the Millers update their electrical systems and install yard fencing.

“Those were both pricey. I’m not sure we would have been able to do that without their help,” said Kriya.

“I’m excited to be outside a lot, tucked away in our little forest play area. This spring we’ll tap maple trees, play in the garden, and build birdhouses. Even the two-year-olds are excited to be outside. My kid cries when it’s time to go inside.”

 

Outside the home

While Mack and the Millers operate out of their home, the commission is helping others open centers elsewhere.

“When we received the grant, we thought we’d have five home-based providers, each of which would serve six or 12 children, depending on their staff,” said Soutas-Little. “But many people don’t want to offer childcare in their home. Either other family members work from home, or their homeowners’ association didn’t allow it, or the home is too small.”

Working in conjunction with Emily Laidlaw, director of Michigan’s Childcare Licensing Bureau, LECDC began to consider childcare options in microcenters—essentially a hybrid between home-based and center-based childcare, including necessary variances.

Easing childcare regulations has bipartisan support in Lansing. Former state representative Jack O’Malley (Republican, Lake Ann) sponsored a bill to allow home-based childcare providers with a proven record of success to serve more children. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bipartisan childcare package into law last June.

In her State of the State address last month, Whitmer, a Democrat, pushed for funding to support preschool. “Data shows that children who go to preschool are: more likely to graduate, earn a certificate or degree, and get a good-paying job. Preschool helps employers too, which is why so many business groups support it,” the governor said.

In Northport, Amalie Kristiansen hopes to open a childcare facility this summer in a village-owned facility that once housed the Discovery Center, with support from LECDC and the Leelanau Township Foundation, whose grant upgraded the space, installed a new dishwasher, and repaired an outside fence. This facility will supplement the Leelanau Children’s Center, which offers care for preschoolers but not babies and toddlers. Northport Public School will officially lease the space and sublet to Amalie—a prime example of a successful collaboration between a private business and a public entity. In turn, Amalie’s parents repainted the building’s interior.

“After having our son Theo, who is now 14 months, we couldn’t find a reason for me to return to work and find day care. There wasn’t any day care available. Even if there was, it would have eaten up my paycheck,” said Amalie, who was born and raised in Northport and has more than a decade of experience as a babysitter and preschool aid. Amalie and her husband Jacob, who works in construction, returned 3.5 years ago to Leelanau County. Before she had Theo, Amalie managed the tasting room and wine club at Good Harbor Winery.

She credits the LECDC for helping her with startup costs, forming a business plan, walking her the licensing and inspection process, and connecting her with other community institutions that now have her back. The commission initially asked Amalie they would open the childcare center in their home, but the family of three lives with Jacob’s parents, so they needed to find an independent space.

“The space is so open and bright and welcoming,” said Amalie. “I have designed it to make it feel more like a home so the kids are comfortable. Especially being a parent, the first time I had somebody babysit my son I was so nervous. It’s important for parents to feel comfortable and safe, having their children with me.”

In Suttons Bay, Megan Henderson and her mom Cynthia (who owns Lylah’s sandwich shop in the old Subway location) will pay $1 a year to rent a childcare space at Suttons Bay Public School after working out an arrangement with superintendent Casey Petz. The Hendersons just began their licensing process and hope to open this summer.

“What led us to this was pure necessity,” said Megan. “My fiancé Scott and I have two small children, and we have not been able to find home-based childcare. Our daughter Lylah (for whom the restaurant is named), is 5 and in kindergarten; our son Oliver is nearly 2.

“This is a great opportunity to work with the school in a space that was set up for toddlers. We just need to make it more infant friendly. This program in general will help so many people who can’t find childcare.”

 

Seeking a space

While Kristiansen and the Hendersons have located spaces for their child-care centers and hope to open later this year, Sherry Davenport’s professional childcare journey is just beginning.

Davenport, 59, moved from Jackson, Michigan, three years ago with her husband, expecting they would retire in Leelanau County. They bought a home near Glen Lake School in order to be close to their daughter, Charynn, who owns Refuge Salon in Suttons Bay, and their grandkids. But when one of Charynn’s employees became pregnant and began looking for local childcare, she quickly found herself at the bottom of waiting lists.

“My daughter called me to vent,” said Davenport. “I had no idea it was such an issue here. I thought, ‘I’m not doing anything. I might as well help her out.’”

Davenport babysat Charynn’s employee’s infant. She soon learned of LECDC’s childcare program and reached out to Soutas-Little in hopes of getting on a fast track to be licensed as a provider. But first she needs to find an approved space to watch children. Davenport contacted Glen Lake School and found a receptive audience, but the school doesn’t currently have room for an early childhood center; an extra 100 students applied to grades K–12 grade this year.

“I can’t finish the licensing process until I have an actual facility,” said Davenport. “We need businesses, churches and schools to step up to the plate and open their doors. Anyone who has extra rooms in their building.”

Davenport outlined the dilemma faced by her daughter and other local business owners who struggle to find or keep employees.

“How are we going to get the employees back post-COVID if there’s not affordable childcare?”