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

“We are pleased that the families at BrightPath Coquitlam will benefit from affordable, quality child care,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “This is part of our goal to help families across the province with affordability relief and will help us learn about how to best implement universal child care.”

BrightPath Coquitlam is one of 53 sites chosen to offer affordable child care to B.C. parents. The centre, with 59 spaces, offers care for children from six weeks of age to five years. BrightPath’s mission is to provide the best intellectual, social and physical child development programs available and to deliver them in safe environments by capable, nurturing staff. BrightPath centres deliver a combination of a world-class curriculum, expertise in early childhood education and care, and ongoing communication with parents.

“BrightPath supports the efforts of the B.C. government to provide affordable, high-quality child care and we are pleased to work in partnership with them,” said Mary Ann Curran, chief executive officer of BrightPath. “We are hopeful that our Coquitlam site is the first of many BrightPath centres to offer high-quality early childhood education and care as part of this initiative.”

Childcare BC Universal Prototype Sites will model what high-quality, affordable, universal child care may look like for B.C. families. This funding will enable BrightPath Coquitlam to offer 59 low-cost licensed child care spaces to parents in Coquitlam. In total, parents of more than 2,500 children will benefit from these new universal child care sites throughout the province.

“We committed to introduce affordable, accessible and quality child care for every parent and community who wants it,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “These high-quality affordable spaces will help shape the future direction of our Childcare BC plan, and we’re excited to be working alongside quality providers such as BrightPath to make life better for B.C. families.”

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 spaces may still be eligible for support through the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which provides up to $1,250 per child per 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 Inititative, which has so far helped to reduce the cost of almost 52,000 child care spaces throughout 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 find child care in B.C., visit a Child Care Resource and Referral Centre, or search the online child care map: http://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/ccf/

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

For more information about BrightPath, visit: www.brightpathkids.com