Budget Basics
As Michigan’s elected leaders continue working toward adopting a final FY2025 state budget, Michigan’s Children offers highlights of budget plans proposed by the Governor, House and Senate impacting children, youth and families in the Budget Basics reports linked below. See what the Governor has proposed for the new state budget year starting Oct. 1, 2024, and how her plans compare to budgets offered by the House and Senate. Once there is a final adopted budget document sometime in June, we will post that here, as well. Look for updates in our Speaking for Kids e-bulletin and on this page.
The annual budget, which decides how our state and federal governments spend our tax dollars, is the single most powerful expression of our governments’ priorities. While there are many competing interests and finite resources, changes in tax policies and the spending of state revenues can potentially change the odds for children and families who are already facing challenges.
We believe that priorities should target closing equity gaps that begin early and accumulate over a lifetime. We focus most of our energy to impact state budget discussions, but federal resources are also critical, and Michigan relies heavily on the resources that come from Washington.
It is important that we help legislators understand that critical programs for children, youth and families are neither pork nor partisan, and to encourage them to work together to utilize state funding in a way that benefits the most vulnerable among us.
