A new state pilot program kicking off this fall aims to reduce turnover and attract talent in early childhood education by offering affordable benefits packages for educators.

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The two-year pilot program, facilitated through the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM), will include health insurance, life and disability benefits, and 401(k) options for early education teachers and child care workers.

Michelle Beebe, chief revenue officer with the Small Business Association of Michigan, told WDET the high turnover rate in the childcare industry is bad for kids.

“Every time you adjust a caregiver it’s impacting a child’s life, it slows down the learning process,” she said. “You have training, it costs the business owner money to constantly be in a state of hiring, and this allows for stability within that industry.”

Beebe says the SBAM hopes to develop tiered benefits packages, where the base plan will be subsidized by the state and employers can buy into higher tiers.

–Reporting by Bre’Anna Tinsley, WDET

Other headlines for Friday, July 18, 2025:

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has promised a better semiconductor deal for Michigan after the SanDisk Corporation pulled out of an agreement to build a chip factory near flint.
• Detroit has demolished thousands of vacant homes since
  voters approved Proposal N five years ago. The $250 million
  bond program enabled the city to tear down blighted
  properties while salvaging other homes to be renovated and sold. A contractor will carry out the 8,000th demolition under the proposal on Friday.
• The Detroit Tigers will face the Texas Rangers on Friday, July 18, at Globe Life Field. The Tigers are currently No. 1 in the American league with a 59-38 record; and as they enter the second half of the season they are facing the 48-49 Rangers. First pitch is at 8:05 p.m. ET.
• Detroit City FC will also face the Pittsburgh Riverhound SC on Friday at Keyworth Stadium. This game could determine positioning in the eastern conference playoffs. The game starts at
  7 p.m.

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