Parents in Williams Lake are getting new child care spaces for this upcoming school year.
The Province’s Ministry of Education and Child Care announced this morning [Thursday, August 28] $23.5 million was provided to fund 640 new child care spaces on school grounds across the province.
$304,150 was provided for 20 new spaces in Williams Lake, which will be located at the Chilcotin Road Elementary School.
Rohini Arora, Parliamentary Secretary for Childcare, said a major part of this project was to help make parents’, especially single parents’, and working parents’ lives easier by having the new care spaces be directly attached to schools.
“There are many parents, moms especially, who want to return to work, but also ensure that their children are in a safe space,” Arora said. “With these spaces, we’re ensuring children can seamlessly transition from their childcare to school, and we’re making it easier for moms and parents to be able to drop their kids off in one location.”
Parents will not have to wait long for the new child care spaces. All 640, including the 20 at Chilcotin Road Elementary, will be open right at the start of the school year this September.
With the new spaces also comes reworked affordability plans by the province. Parliamentary Secretary Arora says the Childcare Fee Reduction Initiative, a subsidy that is provided upfront and paid by parents so they pay less overall, has been lowered. Parents have had to pay on average $47 per day, now the average will $19 per day.
Another affordability program, the Affordable Childcare Benefit, has been made more accessible for families that need additional support for childcare. Arora says this income-tested support service allows parents to input their income to see what benefits they may be eligible for, and will lower costs further.
“This one is really important because families who need the additional support, or say a parent is a based worker, who would receive the most benefit, can put in their information, and we[the province] could help potentially get the costs down to $0.”
Childcare spaces and affordability have been an issue across the province for some time. Arora says these new spaces are a first “major step in the right direction” to ensure childcare for parents.
“We are thinking about a parent’s day with these new spaces, and this announcement is about making sure parents and their children have access to high-quality, affordable, and inclusive childcare. We are going to continue to work and collaborate with our federal partners and the advocates, parents, and children to ensure that access continues to happen.”
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