By Koby Levin, includes “… Those are just a few features of a $1.4 billion investment in Michigan’s child care system. The new state budget, which draws heavily on federal COVID aid dollars, is expected to have an immediate impact on families with young children, and to close funding gaps in the early education system that have destabilized the early childhood workforce and left wide swathes of the state in ‘child care deserts.’ ‘This is a huge step in the right direction,’ said Matt Gillard, president of nonprofit advocacy group Michigan’s Children. …”