Deficit fight may hit preschool programs hardest By Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Lansing -- Children would be among the hardest hit by budget cuts to early childhood programs that are proposed to close Michigan's yawning deficit . The cuts, more drastic in the Senate than what the governor or House have suggested, could have long-term effects on child health and educational development. Studies have shown that children who get early instruction do better later in school. And advocacy groups say that with a bad economy and widespread job losses pinching more family incomes, it's more critical than ever to provide help for youngsters. On the chopping block is money for the Great Start School Readiness program, which helped prepare Brandon Berres of Novi for kindergarten this fall. He's among 1,300 kids in Oakland County , 11,000 in Wayne County and 700 in Macomb who participate. 'Brandon really needed it,' said his mother, Teresa, 34, of the preschool program he attended for three hours a day, four days a week from October through June. 'He was socially shy, and we needed to break him of that before he started kindergarten.' Four-year-old Brandon would not have been able to attend preschool this year without going through Great Start, Berres said, because money was tight after her husband, Scott, 37, was out of work for 13 months after being laid off from his job with an auto parts manufacturer. Under budget cuts in the Republican-led Senate, more than $200 million would be axed from programs that serve children from birth through age 5. Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed earlier in the year keeping some funding for the programs but has left the door open to deeper cuts because of the state's worsening economy and the state's projected $1.8 billion deficit in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The House Democrats' budget plan would use federal stimulus cash to avoid program funding cuts. $200M-plus on block In the Senate's plan, the Great Start program, which provides preschool for 30,500 4-year-olds, faces $103 million in reductions. Child care for low-income working families would see $135 million less. Money would be eliminated for the Early Childhood Investment Corp. , a public/private partnership that focuses on boosting the quality of early childhood programs through training and resources, as well as for Michigan's 55 Great Start Collaboratives, which coordinate early childhood services offered by the counties. Republicans say the cuts are difficult but necessary to drag Michigan out of an economic hole they blame largely on overspending. But a broad array of child advocacy groups -- from the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Michigan Association of United Ways -- say that with unemployment spiking to 15.2 percent, parents need more help than ever. 'It was very painful to make these cuts, but we don't have any money and it's our constitutional obligation to balance the budget,' said Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, and the Senate Republicans. 'At the present moment, given a needs versus wants situation, we have to cut and those cuts are painful. ' Nobody else has come forward with an alternative plan. We understand we're going to be demonized, but we're the only chamber that has put forward a plan to take care of that deficit.' Further erosion of funding The cuts would continue erosion of early childhood programs that began in May when Granholm slashed about $9 million from programs to prevent child abuse and neglect, and $1.6 million from child care. Granholm in February proposed a budget that would continue those cuts while preserving major supports for early childhood -- including preschool and child care . But the General Motors Co. bankruptcy and declining state tax receipts have pushed the deficit far deeper than was envisioned last winter, meaning the governor may be forced to cut deeper than she had expected. 'The governor is a strong supporter of early childhood programs,' said spokeswoman Liz Boyd. 'That said, we have some very difficult decisions ahead of us, and we're working with legislative leaders on a comprehensive solution' to the deficit . 'We will be working with the Legislature to balance the budget in a way that protects important programs as much as possible.' The extent of the cuts, if any, is unknown as negotiators try to reconcile the different budget plans as they push toward the Sept. 30 deadline to have a framework in place. Advocates tout later returns Child advocates say early childhood programs are critical to boosting high school graduation rates , considered key to Michigan's economic recovery. They point to a report from President Barak Obama's Council of Economic Advise rs, released this month, that concluded the most important training to prepare students to go beyond high school is a strong early childhood, elementary and secondary education system. 'Studies show that dollars spent on early childhood have a huge return,' said Andrew Heller, spokesman for ECIC, which has leveraged $10 million in private funding for early childhood programs. Created by Granholm in 2005, ECIC would lose its $14.5 million state allocation under the Senate plan. 'This is a big, big deal for Michigan kids and parents, plus the state economy. We're on the verge of taking one of the things that can truly help turn Michigan around and destroying it.' Karen Olsen, who coordinates the Great Start preschool programs in Macomb County, said tuition for fee-based preschool can run higher than $1,600 annually in the county -- and most of the 700 who attend Great Start in Macomb would simply do without if the program ended . 'There is no way these 700 children will be successful in kindergarten without this pre school experience,' Olsen said. 'A lot of its just working on their social skills, and some of the basic skills such as cutting, gluing and being read to each day.' 