The national average wage for a child care worker is now $13.22 per hour, and nearly 90,000 people have left the industry in the last two years. In Michigan, the shortage has left thousands of parents waiting for open spots in struggling facilities. Parents and childcare advocates showed up at a virtual forum recently to ask local candidates running for Michigan’s State House this November about solutions.

"The real-life impact that a quality early childhood education has on every aspect of all our lives – even if we’re not parents or grandparents becomes apparent when you compare children who’ve been afforded high-quality early experiences and those who have not," says Denise Smith, implementation director for Hope Starts Here Detroit Early Childhood Partnership. "The adults who end up working in every aspect of our society—their early starts shape how they show up in those roles."

Positioning itself at the forefront of the automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare industries, Macomb County saw 76,000 unique job postings over the last year. The median advertised salary was $18.03 per hour — up more than 15% since 2019. Here are some high-growth roles to keep an eye on in the area. 

In partnership with Model D and the Southeast Michigan Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, we're spending the next two months exploring the state of early education and childhood care in our region. We'll be reporting on what parents and providers are experiencing right now, what’s working and what’s not, and who is uncovering solutions. 

“We are still in the beginning stages of this project, but we are ready to begin and use this opportunity to make substantial, lasting change in the ISL field,” says Diane Miller, DZS vice president of educational programming and co-principal investigator for the NSF grant.

The state legalized social district areas in 2020 to reinvigorate businesses and so Michiganders could enjoy their summers outside safely. Some are here to stay. Here are four to check out in Macomb County, and the lessons city leaders learned during their creation.