Earlier this week, Michigan’s legislative leaders averted a major shutdown crisis with the passage of a stopgap budget. This temporary solution secures one week’s worth of government operations, roughly $1.6B, while legislators work to approve the state’s 2026 fiscal budget. Yet thousands of children, families, and community partners across our state continue to face the ripple effects of federal and state gridlock, reminding us that lasting solutions can only be built through cross-sector collaboration that aligns resources, voices, and action.
At KConnect, we envision a future where every child and family has the support and opportunity to thrive, no matter their starting point. We understand that these moments both present challenges and opportunities in our ongoing effort to achieve systems change. In fact, our collective impact model is built for moments such as this.
What’s at Stake if a Budget is Not Passed
A failure to reach a bipartisan agreement has real, tangible consequences for Michigan families. Without a budget, critical supports such as food assistance, childcare subsidies, and Medicaid payments are at risk of disruption. Schools rely on timely state funding to pay teachers, keep buses running, and maintain student services, and delayed or uncertain funding adds stress to districts already working to close achievement gaps. In addition, much of Michigan’s success relies on preparing and connecting workers to good jobs, but delays in workforce funding slow progress toward that goal. The impacts of shutdowns and delays are unevenly distributed, disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income families already navigating systemic barriers.
What KConnect Will Do
In times of disruption, systems change becomes even more urgent. KConnect will continue to elevate community voice by bringing forward the lived experiences of children, families, and the people who serve them. Our role as a backbone organization involves mobilizing cross-sector partners to align resources that prevent families from slipping through the cracks. We will continue to use data to track where systems disproportionately impact underrepresented populations.
Just as importantly, we will continue to utilize our Collective Impact framework to convene coalitions of cross-sector partners from the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors, in partnership with lived experience experts, to develop strategies and align resources to close disparity gaps across our community. This coalition-building ensures that solutions are not fragmented or driven by one sector or political party alone, but instead reflect a unified commitment to the wellbeing of Michigan’s children and families.
What You Can Do
Moments of uncertainty call for more than waiting on lawmakers; they call for informed action. KConnect, along with the Michigan League for Public Policy and Kent ISD, is hosting a FY2026 Michigan Budget Webinar on October 8, 2025, to help community members, educators, families, and partners understand what’s at stake and how we can respond together. This conversation will break down the numbers, highlight potential impacts on schools and families, and explore how collective advocacy can influence outcomes before the budget is finalized. By joining, you’ll gain practical insights and talking points to share with your networks. Your participation strengthens our collective voice and ensures that children and families remain at the center of policy decisions.
A Call to Lawmakers
We urge our legislators to move beyond stopgaps and deliver the bipartisan budget our state deserves. Basic governance is not optional; it is the minimum responsibility of elected officials.
As lawmakers negotiate, the true measure of resilience will be in whether families across Michigan can count on stable systems of support. KConnect stands ready to do its part; building durable, equitable systems that allow every child and family to thrive, now and for generations to come.