Hillsdale Lenawee and Monroe Workforce Resources 

We are excited to partner with Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe economic development organizations to offer workforce development support to businesses in our counties. 

The following resources can support businesses to get early childhood on the agenda, accurately describe the early childhood challenges in funding applications, and plan out innovative solutions to the barriers that your current and future workforce faces as they build families in these communities. 

Child Care Regional Action plan

In mid-2023, the ECIC – Child Care Innovation Fund awarded Lenawee Now the Regional Child Care Planning Grant for the Hillsdale-Lenawee-Monroe County region. Lenawee Now partnered with the Hillsdale Economic Partnership, Monroe County Business Alliance, and contracted with Child Care Network to lead the work. The purpose of the grant was to accelerate community-level efforts to develop new partnerships and implement action plans to address the child care crisis.

Through the remainder of 2023 and early 2024, bi-monthly meetings brought area business leaders, child care business owners, community partners, and families together to discuss the challenges caused by a lack of access to child care in the region. The diverse perspectives of the coalition members encouraged the identification of the broad and creative strategies outlined in this Action Plan.

RESOURCES 

Survey Template
This survey template is for you to customize as you see fit for your company and culture. The survey contains basic questions about your current workforce that will help you to estimate the cost of child care support options such as Tri-Share or Child Care Scholarships. 

Family Support Program
The Family Support Program (FSP) provides child care scholarships for families who need help paying for child care. Through these scholarships, children access safe and nurturing high-quality early learning programs that prepare them for success in Kindergarten and beyond. Learn more by visiting our Family Support Program page.

Child Care Asset Map
View a diagram of the child care options (updated 4/25/24) available to your employees and learn to increase access to child care for the local workforce. In addition, view an interactive child care map to see data on child care availability near your business.

Pulse
Pulse at the Upjohn Institute is a great resource for employment research. This organization is constantly collecting and sharing information about employer-driven early childhood and care initiatives.  

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS 

Hillsdale EDP: The EDP is a non-profit, investor-governed economic development organization primarily focused on increasing employment opportunities, private sector capital investments, and the local tax base in Hillsdale County. The EDP creates an environment to support opportunity, growth, and innovation for all: communities, businesses, and citizen

Lenawee Now: Lenawee Now, is a not-for-profit private public partnership driving economic opportunity in Lenawee County through a variety of programs and services that help businesses startup or expand, develop a talented workforce, and access funding and state and federal programs.

Monroe Business Alliance: The Monroe County Business Alliance is a cutting-edge organization that combines traditional chamber services and economic development into one organization to best serve the community, and most importantly, the member/partners.

The resources on this page have been created with funding provided from the Michigan Department of Education utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.