Families in 14 communities will soon benefit from new BC Early Years Centres, which provide one-stop early learning, health and family services to B.C. families with young children.

The new centres will open this spring and summer in the following communities:

• Abbotsford (Abbotsford School District)
• Cranbrook (Community Connections Society of Southeast B.C.)
• Fort St. John (Child Development Centre of Fort St. John and District)
• Invermere (Family Resource Centre of Invermere)
• Kamloops (John Tod Centre YMCA-YWCA)
• Kaslo (North Kootenay Lake Community Services)
• Kitimat (Kitimat Child Development Centre Association)
• Smithers (Bulkley Valley Child Development Centre)
• Squamish (Sea to Sky Community Services Society)
• Surrey (Association of Neighbourhood Houses of BC, Alexandra Neighbourhood House)
• Surrey (Options Community Services)
• Tri-Cities (SHARE Family and Community Services Society)
• Vancouver (Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique)
• Williams Lake (Women’s Contact Society)

These centres allow parents with children aged 0-6 to connect with a number of services tailored to meet the needs of the local community, including:

• Parent and child drop-in playgroup programs.
• StrongStart BC programs.
• Public health clinics.
• Advice and referrals from early-years professionals.
• Parent education workshops.
• Licensed child care for families.
• Child-care resources and referral information
• A mobile bus to provide outreach to families in rural communities.

The sites were chosen by a cross-ministry selection panel that included representatives from the ministries of Children and Family Development, Education and Health, and are located in a diverse mix of urban, rural and Aboriginal communities. Each centre will receive $52,000 from the Provincial Office for the Early Years for this fiscal year as part of a $5.5-million investment over three years.

The 14 new BC Early Years Centres are in addition to the centres that opened at 12 test sites in Fall 2012.

The network of BC Early Years Centres is a commitment under the B.C. Early Years Strategy, which aims to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of early-years programs and services for families with young children.

Quote:

Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Children and Family Development -

“These new centres will bring the total to 26 BC Early Years Centres throughout the province, giving B.C. families convenient access to services and supports that will help their children learn, grow and thrive. We will continue building on the success of these centres by further expanding the network - as budget allows - in order to reach more families throughout the province.”

Quick Facts:

• Children’s experiences early in life have a profound and long-lasting effect on their future development and well-being. Studies show that positive early years experiences lead to better social, economic, and health outcomes, while chief economists have noted that the wide-spread and long-lasting benefits of investment in the early years far outweigh the costs.
• That’s why government committed $76 million to support the first three years of the BC Early Years Strategy, which includes:
  • A new Provincial Office for the Early Years that helps ensure services across government, and across B.C., are co-ordinated and effective.
  • Support for the creation of up to 2,000 new licensed child-care spaces by March 2016 with the goal of opening 13,000 new spaces by 2020.
  • The B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit, starting April 2015. The benefit will provide $146 million annually to approximately 180,000 families with children under the age of six (up to $660 a year per child).
• The B.C. Early Years Strategy builds on the $1 billion per year government spends on early learning and childhood development initiatives, services and supports, including:
  • Success by 6, Children First and Aboriginal early childhood development programs.
  • Full-day kindergarten.
  • Programs that support healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy.
  • Early childhood development care and learning program investments, including public health nursing, Ready, Set, Learn programs and StrongStart BC early learning programs.
  • A variety of programs, services and supports to address the specific needs of children and youth with special needs.
• The Ministry of Children and Family Development also provides child-care subsidies to help low-income families afford child care - helping approximately 45,000 children each year.
• The ministry has committed $323.5 million for child care in 2015-16, a 53% increase since 2000-01.
• Close to 107,000 licensed child-care spaces are funded in communities throughout B.C.

Learn More:

BC Early Years Centres: http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_years/centres.htm

BC Early Years Strategy: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_childhood/pdf/FamiliesAgenda_EarlyYearsStrategy_web.pdf

Provincial Office for the Early Years: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_years/index.htm

Early childhood development programs funded through the Ministry of Children and Family Development: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/early_childhood/index.htm

Early Learning programs funded through the Ministry of Education, including full-day kindergarten and StrongStart BC: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1553

BACKGROUNDER

Existing BC Early Years Centres in your area

Lower Mainland/Coast

Delta Early Years Centre - 11415 - 84th Ave., Delta
Contact: Denise Sheridan, 778 578-7840, denises@reachchild.org

Langley Early Years Centre - 20766 80th Ave., Langley
Contact: Alicia Stark, 604 882-0732, earlyyearscoordinator@langleycdc.com

Mission Early Years Centre - 33570 11th Ave., Mission
Contact: Laura Wilson, 604 820-4367, laura.wilson@gov.bc.ca

Sunshine Coast Early Years Centre - 5538 Shorncliffe Ave., Sechelt
Satellite Centre - 783 School Rd., Gibson’s Elementary school, Gibsons
Satellite Centre - 5012 Gonzales Rd., Madeira Park Elementary school, Madeira Park
Contact: Jo-Anne Chiasson, 604 989-5458, sunshinecoasteyc@gmail.com

Interior

Nqsilt Early Years Centre - 330 Ellis St., Penticton
Contact: Tanya Behardien, 250 492-5814, tbehardien@pdcrs.com

Revelstoke Early Years Centre - Room 124 - 1001 Mackenzie Ave., Revelstoke
Contact: Tracy Spannier, 250 837-6669, tspannier@mail.cbal.org

Kootenays

Golden Early Years Centre - 423 9th Ave., Golden
Contact: Joanne McCullough, 250 439-8388, goldenecdc@gmail.com

North

100 Mile House BC Early Years Centre - 1 - 486 Birch Ave., 100 Mile House
Contact: Lisa De Paoli, 250 395-5155, ldepaoli@cariboofamily.org

Vanderhoof Early Years Centre - 240 Stewart St., Vanderhoof
Contact: Dawne Persson, 250 562-3591, dawne@csfs.org

Vancouver Island

Comox Valley BC Early Years Centre - 237 3rd St., Courtenay
Contact: Michelle Guthrie, 250 338-4288, early.years@cvda.ca

Peninsula Early Years Centre - 1649 Mount Newton X Rd., Saanichton
Contact: Elaine Venables, 250 655-5300, evenables@beaconcs.ca

Sooke Early Years Centre - #105-2145 Townsend Rd. South, Sooke
Satellite Centre - 345 Wale Rd., Colwood
Contact: Nicky Logins, 250 642-5152 ext. 224, nlogins@sfrs.ca

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1553