Only one in every six infants and toddlers experiencing homelessness in Michigan are enrolled in an early childhood development program, pointing to the dire need for stronger state policies and funding to improve access to those important programs for families without a reliable roof over their heads.

SchoolHouse Connection — a national nonprofit working to overcome homelessness through education — recently partnered with the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions to develop a report that takes a close look at national and state data on infant and toddler homelessness as well as enrollment in age-eligible early childhood development programs during the 2021-22 program year.

According to the report, young children experiencing homelessness across our country are significantly under-enrolled in early childhood development programs, such as Early Head Start and/or early intervention and home visiting programs.

Looking specifically at Michigan, there are a total of 424,697 infants and toddlers in Michigan ages birth to 3 years old. Of that total, 7,595, or 1.79%, are experiencing homelessness. And, of those 7,595 Michigan toddlers and infants experiencing homelessness, only 1,389, or 9.2%, are enrolled in an early childhood development program, leaving 6,206, or 90.8%, unserved.

The importance of early childhood development programs for toddlers and infants experiencing homelessness cannot be overstated.

Often, those are children living in unstable and sometimes unsafe conditions, with living situations ranging from emergency shelters to the back seats of cars, buses, and train stations, parks, motels, substandard housing, abandoned buildings, and the couches and floors of people who will take them in. For young children going through the most important stages of their development, those types of living conditions can seriously impact healthy growth and development and lead to long-term trauma and consequences, including major developmental delays, a lack of school readiness, and low high school graduation rates.

Access to early childhood development programs can make a huge difference in the lives of those vulnerable young ones, as they can help alleviate and even reverse the detrimental effects of homelessness on their development while also aiding families with housing and other service needs.

And, while Michigan has certainly made some strides in removing barriers to those programs for families experiencing homelessness — including streamlined eligibility, priority for child care subsidies, waived co-payments, and grace periods for enrollment documentation and immunization requirements — there is still room for improvement.

To ensure better outcomes for children, Michigan policymakers should offer work requirement exemptions for parents experiencing homelessness to enroll in early childhood development programs and access child care subsidies, also known as scholarships. That is something that nine other states have already done. Early childhood providers and programs can also help in bridging the major gap between served and unserved families who are experiencing homelessness by improving outreach, identification, and support.

This issue is more important than ever, given that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported a 6% increase in families with children staying in homeless shelters or who were visibly unsheltered from 2022 to 2023 in Michigan. And HUD’s numbers only account for a small fraction of families experiencing homelessness, as many go unidentified because they are unable to access a shelter because of a lack of availability, fear, or eligibility requirements.

Homelessness is also rising among school-age children.

Statewide, Michigan saw a 9.5% increase in homelessness among K-12 students from 2019 to 2022. And the figures were even more concerning for the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District, where the share of K-12 students experiencing homelessness increased by over 50% and now sits at more than twice the state average.

The bottom line is kids experiencing homelessness should not be left behind, and early childhood development programs can provide stability and support to the youngest of our state’s residents at a time when it is crucially important for their development.

Addressing housing discrimination, raising the payment standard for the Family Independence Program, adopting a state Child Tax Credit, and addressing affordable housing issues would also go a long way in reducing the number of children who have to grow up without a safe, stable home in the first place.

Anne Kuhnen is Kids Count policy director at the Michigan League for Public Policy.