Michigan lawmakers are investigating a childcare provider that received more than $1.1 million in taxpayer-funded reimbursements, even though investigators say they found no clear sign that the daycare was actually operating at its listed address.
The inquiry focuses on 1st Premier Learning Academy & Daycare in Clinton Township. It was opened by the Michigan House Oversight Subcommittee on State & Local Public Assistance Programs after questions emerged about whether the facility was providing care at the location connected to the payments.
According to an investigative report from the committee, the facility received $1,121,641 through Michigan’s Child Development & Care Program between fiscal years 2023 and 2026. That program helps cover childcare costs for eligible families. But committee staff said repeated attempts to verify activity at the site raised serious concerns.
The daycare is listed at 39781 Garfield Road in Clinton Township. Investigators said that address appears to be occupied by Kidz in Motion Early Learning Institute, a daycare whose state license is listed as closed. They also said they could not find an active childcare license for 1st Premier Learning Academy & Daycare.
Committee staff reported trying to contact the facility during its advertised business hours, but they said all calls went to an answering service and they were unable to reach anyone directly.
During a June 12 visit to the address, investigators said the building was locked even though the daycare was supposed to be open. Lights were on inside, according to the report, but staff members and children were not visible. A tenant from a nearby business reportedly told investigators they had never seen children at the location, though they had seen occasional construction activity.
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jason Woolford later visited the site himself on June 15. According to the report, no one answered the front door despite repeated knocking.
Investigators said Woolford observed an outdoor play area that did not look ready for regular childcare use. The report described it as a fenced-in asphalt lot with grass growing through the pavement. An old playhouse had been pushed against the building, and chairs stacked outside were filled with rainwater.
The report also said a rear door was unlocked, but no one responded when Woolford called inside. Employees at a neighboring café reportedly told him they had never seen children entering the facility.
The committee’s report identifies Premier Early Childhood Education Partners LLC, a Chicago-based company, as the owner and operator of several childcare facilities in Michigan. According to investigators, one affiliated entity, Premier MI Network Clinton Twp, does business as 1st Premier Learning Academy & Daycare.
That entity, the report said, received roughly $1.12 million in Child Development & Care Program reimbursements between fiscal years 2023 and 2026.
For now, the investigation remains open. The oversight committee has not announced any criminal charges, and the report does not say that any court has determined wrongdoing occurred. But lawmakers are raising pointed questions about how a facility could receive more than $1 million in public childcare funds while investigators struggled to confirm that children were being cared for at the listed location.
