Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux released the following statement to celebrate the start of Child Care Month in B.C.:
“Every day, B.C. parents trust child-care providers with the most important thing in their lives – their children.
“Many parents depend on child care so they can go back to work or upgrade their skills – knowing their children are safe and well cared for offers a peace of mind that is immeasurable.
“Child-care providers become part of the family. They spend quality time with children every day and introduce young and busy minds to music, art, reading and the power of imagination. They teach our children new skills and care for them when they’re hurt or sad.
“During Child Care Month, and throughout the year, it’s important to celebrate the thousands of dedicated and nurturing individuals throughout the province who play a critical role in shaping who our children become.
“As part of our Child Care Month celebrations, we will honour this year’s winners of the Child Care Awards of Excellence throughout B.C., including child-care facilities who will receive Legacy Awards for dedicating 40 or more years of service to B.C. children and families.
“We will also make announcements about other early years programs and services, including Child Care Major Capital, the Early Childhood Education Bursary and other new and enhanced online services that help support families to find child care.
“Child-care providers serve an integral and invaluable role in our communities. Please join me in thanking these amazing individuals for their hard work and dedication to B.C. kids.”
Quick Facts:
- As part of the B.C. Early Years Strategy, the Province is committed to supporting sustainable child care options that give families more choice in a range of affordable, safe and quality child-care programs.
- The ministry has committed $327.8 million for child care in 2016-17, a 56% increase since 2000-01.
- As part of that commitment, the ministry also provides child care operating funding directly to child-care providers to help them keep costs down so fewer costs are passed on to parents.
- MCFD also invests up to $119.9 million annually on the Child Care Subsidy program, which currently supports approximately 20,000 children and their families each month throughout B.C.
- Effective April 1, 2016, child support payments no longer influence eligibility for parents already receiving or applying for monthly child care subsidies. This means that more B.C. parents will get additional help with the cost of child care each month.
- Since November 2014, the B.C. government has invested $15.2 million to support the creation of 2,400 new licensed child-care spaces. An additional 1,850 new spaces are expected by late 2017, as part of government’s commitment to create 13,000 spaces by 2020. This builds on the more than 111,000 licensed child-care spaces that are currently funded across the province.
- To further help with the costs of raising a young child, government introduced the new B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit in April 2015. The benefit provides $146 million annually to approximately 180,000 families with children under the age of six (up to $55 a month per child).
Learn More:
For more information about Child Care in B.C. please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare
For more information about the Child Care Subsidy Program, please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcaresubsidy
If you are a child-care operator and would like more information on funding and other services offered through the government, please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcareoperatingfunding