How families are faring after major early childhood state funding cut

When Jen Dominique, mother of three, faced the closure of her child’s Head Start program in November because of the federal government shutdown, there was one resource she wished families with young kids in her community in the Upper Peninsula could still rely on.

“We would have the Great Start Collaborative Family Coalition to lean on, but we lost that,” said Dominique, who lives in Delta County with her three kids. “It just feels like it’s all collapsing, we’re falling further behind. We’re already in a smaller town, we don’t have a lot of resources here.”

In this year’s state budget, legislators and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unexpectedly cut all $19.4 million in funding for the state’s Great Start Collaboratives and Family Coalitions , which included funding for early childhood home-visi