More families in B.C. will save thousands of dollars per year as more than 1,375 child care spaces move into the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program in January.
According to Grace Lore, B.C.’s Minister of State for Child Care, “Spaces in the $10-a-day program reduce the average cost of child care from $1,000 a month for full-time, centre-based infant care to $200 a month for the same service, saving families an average of $800 a month per child.”
More spaces will be added during the coming weeks to meet the goal of 12,500 spaces by February 2023.
Families making less than $45,000 receive the maximum Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB) and pay nothing out of pocket for child care. Families making as much as $111,000 may be eligible to receive additional child care support through the ACCB.
The newly approved $10-a-day spaces are being offered at 35 child care centres throughout B.C., bringing the total $10 a Day spaces in B.C. to almost 12,000.
According to BC government with federal funding support, it is also helping approximately 69,000 families with the cost of child care at centres that are not part of the $10-a-day program through child care fee reductions of as much as $900 per month per child.
All types of licensed child care providers offering services to children five and younger were eligible to apply for the $10-a-day program, including non-profit, private, publicly run and Indigenous-led providers. Additional consideration is given to providers in communities that do not currently have a $10-a-day site and is based on population density.
The cut-off date for $10-a-day program applications was Aug. 18, 2022, and more applications will be reviewed until the target of 12,500 spaces is met. An average of 28,500 children received support through the ACCB each month in 2021-22.
For information about existing $10 a Day ChildCareBC facilities and spaces, criteria, guidelines and priority areas under this intake, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare10aDaychildcare
To apply for the ACCB, visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/affordablechildcarebenefit
