Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development, and Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care, have issued the following joint statement to celebrate reaching a milestone under the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative:

“After just four months, the new Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative has been embraced by both parents and providers. So far, nearly 3,000 providers have applied for the initiative, with 87% of those now approved. This means more than 50,000 licensed child care spaces are now receiving funding.

“We’re excited that, to date, thousands of B.C. parents have saved more than $35 million on the cost of their child care.

“All of the success from this initiative belongs to the providers who have chosen to opt in and commit to a new social-policy shift that is designed to put affordable, quality child care within reach for all B.C. families.

“The second affordability measure for parents – the new Affordable Child Care Benefit – will launch on Sept. 1, 2018. The benefit can be combined with the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, so that families can save even more on their monthly child care costs.

“As we approach the launch of the benefit, we are grateful to be working with families and dedicated child care professionals to change the face of B.C.’s child care system. Together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of B.C. children and families.”

Learn More:

Child care in B.C.: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare

To find child care in B.C., visit: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children

To see a list of the child care providers who are participating in the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/optin

To learn more about the Affordable Child Care Benefit visit: www.gov.bc.ca/affordablechildcarebenefit

To learn how much you could save on the cost of child care through the Affordable Child Care Benefit, use the online estimator tool: https://myfamilyservices.gov.bc.ca/s/estimator