State Program Provides Free Preschool For Michigan Families

We have all heard time and time again that it's expensive to have and raise children and the costs don't seem to be getting any cheaper any time soon. This why you will see schools, parents, athletic teams, and many other organizations and groups holding fundraisers to help alleviate some of that stress. There are countless things you have to pay for and any help you can get is better than doing it all alone.

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One of the most expensive things you have to pay for as a parent is childcare. This mostly pertains to daycare, but many people forget that preschool is considered childcare and isn't necessarily free. It costs about $1,200 per month to send a child to preschool here in Michigan, for some families that's backbreaking.

Thankfully, those families will now have some relief thanks to a program run by the State of Michigan that provides funding for preschool for all families in Michigan. The Great Start for Readiness Program (GSRP) which was once a program that was only for low-income families, has now been extended to ever family in the state.

Michigan Extends Free Preschool Program To All Families

This increased the program's budget to $650 million to provided eligibility to each family in Michigan. Currently, the enrollment for the program sits at 56% and the state believes most of this is due to the lack of awareness from many families. Other factors include:

• a lack of open spots in high demand areas
• a shortage of qualified teachers to staff classrooms
• transportation

One major issue at play is the schedule of parents, but they should know that some facilities will provide before and after care to work with those flexible schedules while others will be limited to the K-12 model which could make things more difficult. Transportation can also be provided in some areas if that is a concern for parents as well.

Another large concern is that parents could be taking a spot from a child who need it more. This is nothing to worry about as low-income families are still given the priority in situations where it is applicable, but everyone can take advantage of the program. So far, the program has seen a 10% enrollment increase in just 2 years and hopes to see as much as 75% of the state's 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool.

If you need help on getting started, type in your ZIP code on the official free pre-K website and view the free preschool options before starting the enrollment process online.