Thursday, March 28, 2024

13 more daycares on Vancouver Island to join the $10/day child care program

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Thirteen more child care sites on Vancouver Island will soon be added into the $10/day child care program, according to a release from the province Thursday. 

At these sites, families will pay no more than $200 per month per child for full-time enrolment during regular business hours. 

“These affordable $10 a Day child care spaces will make an incredible difference in the lives of families in Victoria,” said Grace Lore, MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill. 

“When parents in Victoria can afford child care, they can focus on pursuing career or educational opportunities and the entire community and its economy benefit.”

The $10 a day child care program began in 2018 with 2,500 spaces available for families. Today, there are over 6,500 spaces across the province.

In Budget 2021, the province committed to expanding the number of $10 a Day spaces in BC by converting 3,750 licensed child care spaces into low-cost spaces for families. 

Now, 13 more child care sites across Vancouver Island will follow suit, resulting in 757 new $10 a day spaces.

“I know there couldn’t be a better time for families to hear that their child care centre is becoming a $10 a Day site,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. 

“We’ve heard from families that having access to $10 a Day child care is life changing, and when our ChildCareBC plan is fully implemented, no family will pay more than $10 a day for licensed child care. As we work toward that goal, tens of thousands of parents are already benefiting by saving up to $1,600 a month on child care. Through Budget 2022, more savings are on the way for all types of child care.”

In addition to $10/dayay child care investments, Budget 2022 builds on existing funding toward the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and the Affordable Child Care Benefit. 

This funding helps thousands of families pay less for childcare, saving as much as $1,600 a month per child.

The province said the number of spaces in the program will more than double to 12,500 by December 2022, through partnerships with the Government of Canada through the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

For more information on the $10 a Day ChildCareBC sites, visit their website here.

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