ALPENA — Extra support for young families in the Alpena area will come to an end due to cuts in the state school aid budget in fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026.

The Great Start Collaborative (GSC) and Family Coalition in the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District (AMA ESD) region have announced that their funding has been eliminated from the State School Aid Budget under Section 32p, the Early Childhood Block Grant, according to a Thursday press release.

This statewide decision removes $19.4 million in funding and represents a significant setback for Michigan’s early childhood programs and the statewide network that supports them.

For more than a decade, the AMA Great Start Collaborative has played a critical role in connecting families, schools, and community partners to improve outcomes for children from birth through age eight. The Section 32p funding allowed GSCs to coordinate system-wide efforts that ensured families had access to resources, services, and support. With its elimination, there will no longer be a dedicated budget line to support the GSC’s core functions of convening partners, coordinating services, and amplifying family voices.

The elimination of the GSC grant will directly affect families throughout the AMA region. While statewide advocacy efforts are underway to pursue a supplemental bill that could restore funding, local staff supporting this work will complete their duties by the end of December 2025.

Without the AMA GSC staffing, several essential coordination efforts and family engagement programs will come to an end unless another area agency can take over, including:

— Help Me Grow: The AMA GSC was preparing to launch as a Centralized Access Point to connect families with early childhood information and services, including screening, referral, and follow-up.

— Child and Family Events and Workshops: Numerous programs supporting child development, literacy, and school readiness will cease, including Parent & Dads Cafe, Baby Connect, Jumpstart to Kindergarten, Talking is Teaching – Talk, Read, Sing, Birth-to-Five Home Libraries, and Shoe Palooza.

— Community Coordination and Leadership: The GSC’s role in facilitating key regional collaborations will end, including the School Readiness Advisory Committee, Child Care Innovation Coalitions, Home Visitation Leadership Group, Human Service Coordinating Councils, Regional Perinatal Collaborative, and MiThrive Health Innovation, among others.

“While this decision is deeply disappointing, we are incredibly grateful for the partnerships that have focused on the well-being of families and their children,” said Angela Bruning, AMA GSC Coordinator in the press release. “The GSC has always been about collaboration, working together to make sure children have the opportunity to thrive. We remain hopeful that the importance of this work will be recognized and that funding will be restored.”

AMA ESD Superintendent Justin Gluesing echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the long-term value of the GSC’s work.

“The Great Start Collaborative has been an essential part of our early childhood system,” said Gluesing. “Its ability to bring partners together, identify community needs, and ensure families have access to the right supports has made a meaningful difference. The loss of this funding will be felt deeply across our region.”

The AMA GSC urges community members, partners, and families who wish to show their support and contribute to the statewide effort to restore funding to take two immediate actions:

— Complete a Feedback Survey: Your stories will be used in statewide advocacy efforts. The survey can be found at: https://bit.ly/GreatStartStories.

— Contact Legislators: Share the importance of GSCs and Family Coalitions to your community with your elected officials.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.