Michigan has officially decided that paying for childcare is too expensive for one person or family, so naturally their solution is not to find ways to cut costs, but instead to "invite" more people to help pay the bill. The new Tri-Share law makes the state, employers, and parents split childcare costs three ways, because apparently “divide and conquer” works on daycare, too.
Here are Five Fast Facts on Michigan's Tri-Share program:
- 💲 Make It Affordable - Tri-Share is designed to make childcare more affordable for working parents while helping employers attract and retain workers. Families earning between 200%-400% of the federal poverty level are eligible. In other words, it targets people who make too much for some assistance but not enough to look at a daycare bill and say, “I got this.”
- 👀 The Paycheck Impact - Parents pay one-third instead of the entire childcare bill. One participating parent said, “I’m seeing more of my paycheck than I did before.” Um...yep, that is generally how that works in the exciting world of personal finance.
- 🎓 Grad And Growing - Tri-Share began as a pilot program but has now graduated to a permanent, statewide law. The program has grown to 300+ participating employers, and the new law codifies it while expanding its use across Michigan.
- 💵 Not Without Cost - The FY2027 education budget includes almost $2.8 billion for education, $5 million of which is for an ongoing fund to bring in more families. Meanwhile, one participating employer said it increased its own Tri-Share budget by about $70,000 annually. So, yes, somebody is paying for this - just not you anymore.
- ⛔ Say It Ain't So - Opponents of the law voice the main objection: employers have to contribute a third of the childcare cost, which could be in the tens of thousands of dollars annually. Apparently, even “three-way split” sounds less fun when your company gets the invoice and it drives costs up.
🔥Bottom line: The big idea is pretty simple: make childcare cheaper for parents, let politicians buy votes by giving out state tax money, and give employers a tool to help attract and keep workers. It may not bring daycare costs down at all, but at least Michigan has finally found a way to make the bill everybody’s problem.
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