Caring for MI Future:
Facilities Improvement Fund

Grant guidelines, with detailed information about what the grant is, who is eligible, how to apply, what the money can be used for, and more, can be downloaded in ENGLISH, SPANISH, ARABIC.

Facility Assessment Checklist

IFF has provided a link to a Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Facility Assessment Checklist, which identifies the following issue areas integral to keeping young children safe and healthy in early learning spaces:

• Environmental Health and Safety
• Prevention of Fire Hazards
• Emergency Preparedness
• General Facility Maintenance—Ventilation, Plumbing, and Electrical Systems
• Building Exterior and Interior
• Playground Quality
• Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act

Research

• A System for All Children: An Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment in Grand Rapids (2018)
• The System We Need: A Neighborhood Snapshot of Early Education in Detroit (2015)
• Building a Better System: The Need for Early Childhood Education in Macomb, Oakland, and Out-Wayne Counties (2015)
• Getting Ready: Preparing to House Your Pre-Kindergarten Program (2006)
• The Building Blocks of Design: A Handbook for Early Childhood Development Facilities (2004)

Articles

• The importance of facility quality in early education
• Big and small: sharing early education wisdom from rural to urban communities
• The high cost of limited access to early childhood education in Detroit
• Prepared to learn: Why early education is so important for Michigan’s children
• The positive signs, and challenges ahead, for early education in Detroit and Michigan
• What Michigan can learn from Chicago about growing early childhood education
• What will it take to make Detroit a “baby friendly” city?

For more information about Caring for MI Future visit https://www.michigan.gov/caringformifuture