LANSING, Mich. — Nearly 109,000 Michigan children and teens took part in before-school, after-school and summer programs tracked by the state over the past year, MiLEAP, the state Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, said in a new annual report.
The figure, 108,966 young people across 69 of the state’s 83 counties, anchors the Vision and Impact Report 2026 released Monday by the department’s Office of Education Partnerships. The office runs the state’s out-of-school time and summer learning grants, which draw on both federal and state dollars. Its stated job is to build partnerships that widen learning options from birth all the way through college and training after high school.
Money behind those programs topped $73 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year through Out-of-School Time Grants, a program paid for by the state, and community-based providers received it. Even so, the department said requests for those grants keep running ahead of what is available.
The report also counts more than 1.09 million contacts with families logged by the 10 regional MiFamily Engagement Centers, which work with parents, schools and community groups on learning from birth through college. The state also licensed more than 1,000 children’s camps this year.
On the career side, the state counted 151 Education and Training programs in career and technical education during 2024-25, a pathway for students who want to work with children. That total has grown by more than 160 percent since 2019-20.
Alongside the report, MiLEAP issued a revised version of its MiFamily family engagement framework for teachers, child care providers and program staff. Nearly 200 people from 55 counties reviewed an early draft in focus groups that began in summer 2025. The updated framework rests on five foundations, starting with the idea that relationships are the cornerstone of working with families.
MiLEAP Executive Director Beverly Walker-Griffea said in the release that the partnerships aim to give families a voice and help every learner thrive. The department said regional family engagement work will need steady support and that schools, colleges and employers must keep coordinating on education workforce pathways.
Section: More Lansing MI education news
Filed under: Lansing MI Education News
