In southwest Detroit, data shows a lack of available licensed child care seats, leaving some parents to turn to unlicensed care.

Advocates say Michigan should make it easier for these informal child care providers to get licensed.

Chances are, if you ask pretty much any family in the process of looking for quality child care, they'll tell you finding it can be hard.

But when families live in neighborhoods where licensed providers are scarce, it can make an already challenging situation even worse.

That’s what Lydia Chouinard felt when trying to find care for her young daughter in southwest Detroit, an area data show has some of the highest needs for licensed child care seats in the city.

“There are a ton of kiddos, and a lot of moms,” said Chouinard, who has lived in southwest Detroit

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