Child care is getting less expensive and easier to find in Chase as the Province invests in 13 new child care spaces to give more parents the option to return to work, go back to school or pursue other opportunities.

“Parents throughout the province, and especially in rural areas, have been struggling to find quality affordable child care for too long,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “We’re making progress, and the new spaces at Growing Minds Childcare will give local families peace of mind, knowing their children are well cared for and spending their days in a quality learning environment.”  

Through Childcare BC’s New Spaces Fund, Growing Minds Childcare is creating five spaces for children aged three to five and eight for children under 12. The centre offers flexible hours to accommodate parents who work or are in school and offers a wide range of programs for children, including fostering learning about Indigenous culture and language.

“With the help of the Province and its funding, we are able to create a safe, healthy and welcoming space for the children of our community,” said Candice Smith, owner, Growing Minds Childcare. “The space will provide care that supports and guides all ages in their physical, social, emotional, intellectual and language developmental domains.”

The spaces are part of the fastest creation of child care spaces in B.C.’s history with more than 10,400 funded in the past 15 months. With the addition of 900 spaces funded through partnerships with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and Aboriginal Head Start using federal funding, and 4,100 spaces created through the 2017 Budget Update, more than 15,400 spaces have been created in B.C.

Since launching in February 2018, the Childcare BC plan has helped parents in the Chase region save almost $200,000 through the Affordable Child Care Benefit and Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative.

Investing in child care and early childhood education is a shared priority between government and the BC Green Party caucus and is part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement.

Quick Facts:

• The Village of Chase received a $25,000 grant to help it undertake a needs assessment and create a child care action plan to support local families over the next ten years. This funding comes from the Community Child Care Planning Program, a $3-million partnership between the Province and UBCM.
• The Province has made significant investments to improve supports for B.C.’s early care and learning professionals.
• To date, the Province has invested more than $13 million to provide more than 10,000 early childhood educators with a $1-per-hour wage enhancement, with another $1-per-hour lift to come in April 2020. This includes almost $3,000 to early childhood educators in the Chase region through the wage enhancement.

Learn More:

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

To learn more about the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund and to apply, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund

To find child care in a community, view the online child care map: http://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/ccf/

Child care factsheet: https://news.gov.bc.ca/18430