Incentivize Child Care Development in Redevelopment Areas
Municipal leaders can play a pivotal role in fostering child care infrastructure by integrating child care planning into broader community and economic development strategies. Incentivizing child care development in redevelopment areas ensures that early learning facilities are included in strategic growth plans, enhancing a community’s attractiveness to families and businesses alike. Initiatives like Michigan’s Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) program provide frameworks that encourage municipalities to streamline development processes while embedding child care needs into planning efforts. Municipalities can also leverage incentives such as tax credits, grants, and zoning flexibility to encourage developers to prioritize child care centers in new projects, ensuring these essential services are readily available in areas of economic revitalization. By aligning child care planning with redevelopment goals, communities can promote sustainable growth and improve residents’ access to quality early learning options.
Next Steps: What Municipal Leadership Can Do
Integrate Child Care into Planning Include child care facility development as a priority in local economic and redevelopment plans. This ensures that as communities grow, essential services like early learning centers are part of the conversation from the start.
Expand Development Frameworks Engage with the Redevelopment Ready Communities or other such frameworks to streamline development processes and incentivize projects that incorporate child care infrastructure. Utilize planning and development tools to align child care needs with larger community redevelopment efforts.
Offer Financial Incentives Provide tax incentives, grants, or low-interest loans for developers who include child care facilities in their projects. These financial incentives can make child care development a more attractive option for builders and investors.
Update Zoning Policies Review and revise local zoning ordinances to allow for the flexible placement of child care centers in residential, commercial, and industrial areas. This helps remove barriers to creating more accessible and diverse child care options throughout the community.
Partner with Developers and Early Learning Advocates Build strong partnerships with developers, early learning advocates, and state-level organizations to encourage collaboration on projects that prioritize child care. These partnerships can help bridge gaps in funding, planning, and implementation.
