Families at the Nzen’man’ child care centre are now paying no more than $200 a month per child as part of a B.C. government universal child care prototype project.

“Children and families in the area greatly benefit from the wide variety of services at the Nzen’man’ child care centre,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “The centre focuses on learning experiences that better the whole child with a mix of structured learning times and free play. It also provides more than basic child care by increasing awareness of community resources.”

The Nzen’man’ child care centre, operated by the Nzen’man’ Child and Family Development Centre Society, is one of more than 50 sites chosen to offer low-cost child care to B.C. parents. The centre, located within the Lytton Elementary School, provides a unique set of services for children and families of the Lytton First Nation, Siska, Skuppah, Kanaka, Cook’s Ferry, Nicomen Bands and Oregon Jack Creek bands.

The child care centre offers opportunities for children and staff to become immersed in cultural activities, including learning language and songs from a language teacher. The centre also provides programs for fully inclusive child care, with services available to children who may have extra support needs. Additionally, centre staff work with the school district to develop care plans as required, ensuring students receive the individualized support needed to succeed. 

“We have a long-term goal to introduce universal child care so that every family who needs it has access to quality early learning,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “These low-cost spaces will help to shape the future direction of our Childcare BC plan, and we’re excited to be working alongside providers to make life better for B.C. families.” 

The prototype sites will model what high-quality, affordable, universal child care may look like for B.C. families. In all, parents of around 2,500 children will benefit from the prototype project.

This project is funded through a $60-million investment as part of the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the Government of Canada. It complements the Province’s $1-billion three-year investment through Childcare BC to move toward its long-term vision of affordable, accessible and quality child care for any family that needs it.

Parents who are not accessing these low-cost spaces may still be eligible for support through the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which provides up to $1,250 per child a month for families with an annual income of $111,000 or less. Families using licensed child care may also see savings through the Child Care Fee Reduction, which has so far helped to reduce the cost of almost 52,000 child care spaces around the province.

Learn More:

For more about Childcare BC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare

For more information about universal child care prototype sites, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/prototypesites

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

For more information about the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and approved providers, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/optin