The current system puts pressure on families and providers at the same time. Families often cannot afford to pay more, while providers cannot raise wages or expand care without increasing costs.

The proposed child care millage is a 0.5 mill property tax that would fund dedicated services and programs for Kalamazoo County residents with young children, ages 0-5, and their caregivers. If approved by voters, the millage would run for 8 years, from 2027 through 2034.

What will the millage fund?

The millage will support efforts to lower costs for families, raise child care provider wages, and make it easier for families to find child care.

Why use a local millage to fund child care?

The proposed millage would create dedicated, long-term local funding for child care services and programs in Kalamazoo County.

This approach would allow the county to invest consistently in priorities such as lowering costs for families, raising provider wages, and making child care easier to find, rather than relying only on short-term or fragmented funding.

How much would the millage generate?

A 0.5 millage is expected to generate about $6.3 million per year.

When will the millage be on the ballot?

Registered voters across Kalamazoo County would be asked to vote on the proposed child care millage in the August 4, 2026 election.

The gap is especially severe for infants and toddlers. Care for young children requires more staffing, is more expensive to provide, and has fewer available slots.

Local investment would create dedicated funding to support access, affordability, workforce stability, and long-term system improvement in Kalamazoo County.

A 0.5 child care millage would cost about $50 per year for a household with a taxable value of $100,000, which is roughly a $200,000 market value.

What does 0.5 mills mean?

A 0.5 millage means $0.50 per $1,000 of taxable value. For example, a property with a taxable value of $100,000 would pay about $50 per year.

This millage keeps governance within Kalamazoo County, with community members and organizations embedded in the process and decision-making.

Have the specific programs already been decided?

The current priorities are to lower child care costs for families, raise provider wages, and make child care easier to find. Specific providers, discounts, and programs will require approval.

Why haven’t the specific programs been finalized yet?

Because the millage would create long-term funding to develop programs based on community priorities and needs. This allows the county, community members, and partner organizations to shape programs through an accountable process rather than locking every detail into place before the funding exists.

The proposed fund would be designed with Kalamazoo County government oversight working in partnership with a community committee composed of local child care sector experts, and evaluation to support accountability and transparency.

When families cannot find or afford reliable care, the effects ripple outward. Parents face impossible tradeoffs. Providers and early educators are asked to keep care available in a system that is difficult to sustain. Employers and local businesses feel the strain when workers cannot consistently get to work, stay at work, or remain in the workforce.

How is child care connected to workforce and economic stability?

Child care is part of the workforce infrastructure that helps parents work and employers operate. When care is unavailable, unaffordable, or unreliable, parents may miss work, reduce hours, leave jobs, or delay school and training.

Child care challenges are already affecting families, employers, and the broader workforce. In recent data, 14% of parents left a job in the prior six months because of child care problems, and 52% made a significant adjustment to school or work training because of child care issues. Across Michigan, child care-related turnover and absenteeism are estimated to cost employers $2.3 billion per year.

A stronger child care system can help more parents stay connected to work, help employers maintain a more reliable workforce, and support the broader Kalamazoo County economy.

Source note: KCCC Report, 2025

Why should residents without young children care about this issue?

Child care is part of the infrastructure that helps a community function. Even residents who do not currently have young children are affected by the strength of the local workforce, the stability of local businesses, and the long-term well-being of children growing up in Kalamazoo County.

When child care is hard to find or afford, the effects reach workplaces, schools, local businesses, and the broader economy. Supporting a stronger child care system is one way to invest in the county’s families, workforce, and future.

How would this support families?

The millage would help develop programs intended to lower costs and make child care easier to find, especially for families with young children.

How would this support providers and early educators?

The millage would support efforts to raise child care provider wages and recognize child care teachers and providers as a critical part of the county’s cradle-to-career education system and overall economy.

The current child care system is already under pressure. Without a sustained local approach, families will continue facing high costs, limited options, and uncertainty. Providers and early educators will continue leaving the field. Employers will continue feeling the effects of absenteeism, turnover, and workforce strain.

The longer Kalamazoo County waits, the more we risk losing the child care capacity, workforce stability, and early learning support our community needs for the future.