We know child care costs can deter parents for pursing a college education – or put more pressure on students’ budgets that are already on campus. Michigan’s child care scholarship is administered by the Office of Early Education at MiLEAP and many student parents qualify. Here’s what you need to know:
• What is the child care scholarship? The Child Care Scholarship provides low or no cost child care to qualifying families that are working or going to school. Parents can select a child care provider that meets their needs and schedule, and then the state provides payment for up to 100% of the cost of care. Parents can get help paying for school while they’re in class, studying, and traveling to or from campus. If a student is also working, the scholarship can cover child care during working hours too.
• How does a student know if they’re eligible? Parents must complete an application through MiBridges. We also have a tool to help parents know if they’re likely to qualify. The mobile friendly Eligibility Calculator takes less than 2 minutes to complete and can help student parents know if this scholarship is right for them.
• What if a student parent needs help finding child care? MiLEAP partners with Great Start to Quality to help parents search for care in their community. This tool is more comprehensive than a Google search and helps parents quickly find more information about a provider – including their health and safety record.
• Where can I go to learn more?
Child care scholarship website (previously called the child care subsidy or Child Development and Care Program)
Call the Child Care Help Desk at 866‑990‑3227 between 8:30 and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday.