In Rough Waters, Kids Are First In Line For The Lifeboats

(May 2026) It might not be time for the lifeboats yet, but when budgets tighten kids and families have to be pushed to the front of the line. We see some evidence of this in some proposed state budgets, but concerning cuts in others. Early On, Michigan’s early intervention program from infancy to age three, received an additional $5.4M! But Rx Kids, the tobacco and vape taxes, the child care scholarship, and homeless and runaway youth grants are facing budget headwinds. Between now and June 30th (the date by which the state budget is supposed to be passed) is a great time for child advocacy! Actions you can take and links to helpful materials are included throughout this document.

It’s a tight budget year with changes at the federal level from last year’s reconciliation bill (HR1) cascading down to states and every state struggling to fill giant gaps. Michigan is no different, with a more than $1B budget shortfall, mostly in Medicaid and SNAP, keystone programs for kids and families. Medicaid provides healthcare for more than a million Michigan kids and SNAP helped feed almost a half million kids in 2023 in our state.

We’re glad to see efforts to maintain these essential safety net programs, such as by raising revenue (Governor), and increasing staff to help families navigate increased renewals and paperwork (see differing proposals in table below). An estimated 200,000 Michiganders are expected to lose Medicaid coverage and 40,000 are expected to lose SNAP benefits. Parents with children under 14 are exempt from work requirements, but increasing eligibility redetermination to twice a year versus once increases the opportunities for a paperwork snafu or for a busy parent working a couple of jobs to miss a renewal notification or a deadline. We expect child/family churn rates to rise (when kids/families lose coverage not because they aren’t eligible, but because a paperwork issue causes them to lose access to benefits for weeks to months before administrative issues are solved and their coverage is reinstated).

There’s still work to do as the three budgets differ pretty significantly. The Governor’s final budget came in at $88.1B, balanced using a mix of cost savings, a $400M rainy day withdrawal, and $780M in new revenues. Michigan’s Children sees the tobacco tax increase and addition of a vape tax as a win-win, benefitting kids’ health (especially in light of a loosening of tobacco/vape policies at the federal level) and helping to maintain Medicaid and SNAP. The Senate’s budget is also $88.1B, but the House proposed a $75.8B budget – leaving a multi-billion-dollar gap to negotiate. The majority of the difference between the House and other budget proposals seems to come from cutting budgets by the amount of any unspent funding from last year, as well as eliminating unfilled positions.

Right now, everyone seems to share the desire to get the budget done by the July 1 deadline (unlike last year). It’s a huge election year for Michigan and most legislators would like to get back to their districts. The May 15 Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference revised FY27 state revenue predictions upward by about $174M ($94M general fund & just shy of $80M for the school aid fund); the slight upward change should give negotiations a boost, but wasn’t enough to truly improve the state’s budget situation. To read the full Budget Basics, click here.

Stay tuned to budget issues by signing up to the Michigan’s Children bulletin here and follow us on social media. 

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Michigan’s Budget: Child Advocacy Starts Here

Both the federal and state budgets impact Michigan kids. Collectively, they determine how much funding child care and K-12 education gets, whether kids in your community have after-school programs, and so much more. For this reason, state and federal budget analysis and our Budget Basics are an important part of our work at Michigan’s Children. We want to equip advocates with the information (which isn’t always easy to find or understand) they need for talking to decision makers.

It’s anyone’s guess whether this budget season will be more typical with a finalized budget by June 30th, or if it will be a much longer debacle. Last year the Michigan House did not even release a full budget by June 30, and the state missed the drop-dead October 1 deadline as well. Missing the June deadline meant that schools started their fiscal year without knowing what their budgets would be. The delays were criticized all-around by fans of good government; we hope all parties got the message and will do their jobs in line with state law this year.

See our full Budget & Advocacy Timeline for more ideas on advocacy throughout the budget cycle.

Step 1: Governor’s Budget Proposal

The Michigan budget season officially starts with the release of the Governor’s FY27 budget proposal, which was released February 11 this year. Click on the box to see Our Analysis of the Governor’s FY27 budget. –>

Step 2: Advocacy!

It’s a great time to talk to your legislators in the House and Senate as they craft their budgets in response to the Governor’s budgets which are typically released in April or May. We suggest highlighting funding pieces for kids and families you support as well as talking about places where you want to see more investment for our kids.

This is going to be a tough budget year, as cuts from the federal government continue to trickle down and put pressure on state governments. Advocacy to maintain (flat) funding for crucial existing programs is needed, as well as educating and pushing for more investment. Don’t assume that a well-established program doesn’t need advocacy, but also don’t limit your goals. Kids and families need us to push for critical supports in child care, K-12 education and special education to name a few! To see the rest of the Governor’s budget information click here.

Step 3: Senate and House Budgets

It’s a great time to talk to your legislators in the House and Senate as they craft their budgets in response to the Governor’s budget. We suggest highlighting funding pieces for kids and families you support as well as talking about places where you want to see more investment for our kids. This is going to be a tough budget year, as cuts from the federal government continue to trickle down and put pressure on state governments. Advocacy to maintain (flat) funding for crucial existing programs is needed, as well as educating and pushing for more investment.

Step 4: Advocacy!

Still time to talk to all decision makers about what should be in the final version. Public pressure and advocacy campaigns can make a very real difference – they helped save Michigan’s free school meals program for FY26!

Step 5: The Actual Budget

Once the deals are made and the Governor signs the FY27 budget into law, it’s time to count up the wins and start planning new strategies for what we didn’t get this time around.

 

 

Click here to visit our Budget Basics Archive to compare approved state budget plans from previous years.