MI Tri-Share Shows How Child Care Supports Workforce Stability 

• Panelists said child care should be viewed as a workforce issue because limited access can push parents out of jobs, disrupt training and education, and create hiring, retention, and productivity challenges for employers. 

• Speakers pointed to MI Tri-Share’s growth, employer participation, and family savings as evidence that the program is gaining traction, even as the word “pilot” can still create hesitation for businesses considering whether to offer the benefit. 

• The discussion also made clear that MI Tri-Share is not a standalone fix, as provider shortages, child-care deserts, low wages, and administrative complexity continue to shape access across Michigan. 

As Michigan employers continue to navigate workforce challenges, panelists pointed to MI Tri-Share as one way to help more families remain connected to work. The conversation focused on the program’s growth, why business leaders increasingly see child care as part of workforce strategy, and what broader barriers still need to be addressed to improve access across the state. 

View the full video below.

Moderator Beverly Walker-Griffea opened the session by framing child care as more than a family issue, describing it as a business and economic issue that affects employers, parents, and the state’s long-term growth.  

Panelists said families are making significant trade-offs because of high costs and limited availability, including leaving jobs, cutting back hours, or changing education and training plans. For employers, those same pressures emerge as hiring challenges, turnover, scheduling difficulties, and lost productivity.  

Rep. Greg VanWoerkom (R-Norton Shores) said those workforce concerns helped shape the program from the start, arguing that child care had too often been treated only as an education or social services issue rather than a workforce issue. 

“Child care was always, before, talked about as an early education or a health care issue,” VanWoerkom said. “Those were the departments that were very much involved, but nobody was looking at it as a workforce development issue.” 

Panelists also highlighted the program’s growth. Walker-Griffea said what began as a first-in-the-nation pilot in 2021 has produced millions in savings for families and expanded to hundreds of employer partners.  

Kelli Saunders of the Small Business Association of Michigan said employers are interested when the program is practical and easy to understand, but added that the word “pilot” can still create concern for businesses that do not want to offer a benefit they may later need to withdraw.  

At the same time, speakers said MI Tri-Share’s continued momentum depends on sustained funding, clear communication, and administration that is consistent enough for both employers and providers to navigate. 

“People who have participated in Tri-Share, they will talk up and down all day long about how people should get involved in the program because they see a lot more stability within their workforce, that when their employees know that they can drop their kids off to a home-based or center-based, whatever it may be, where their littles are cared for, that they have obviously a much more stable workforce,” Saunders said. 

Even with that progress, speakers said broader child-care system challenges continue to limit access. VanWoerkom pointed to provider shortages, child-care deserts, and the difficulty of creating and maintaining enough slots across different regions of the state.  

Megan Russell Johnson of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation said the underlying business model remains difficult because many families cannot afford care while providers struggle to offer wages that attract and retain workers. Panelists all agreed that MI Tri-Share can help address affordability for some families, but they emphasized that long-term progress will also require stronger provider support, simpler systems, and continued cross-sector collaboration. 

“Truly one of the underlying causes or challenges and concerns in the child-care sector is it’s a business model that just doesn’t work,” Johnson said. “There’s a slogan that’s used in the field that parents can’t afford to pay, and child-care workers can’t afford to stay. It’s just such a true statement, and it’s part of what makes the field so under-resourced.” 

This session was hosted by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP).