NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2002MCAWS0065-001017 Nov. 27, 2002		Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services
CHILD-CARE FUNDING BENEFITS MORE PROVIDERS, FAMILIES

VICTORIA – More child-care providers than ever before will be eligible for government funding as the result of a new child-care operating funding program, Lynn Stephens, minister of state responsible for child care, said today.  

 

“We are acting on our New Era commitment to increase child-care choices for parents by encouraging the expansion of safe, affordable child-care spaces,” said Stephens. “The previous child-care system was fragmented, inequitable and inconsistent in the way funding was provided. Our new model will increase the number of government-supported spaces by over 50 per cent and provide a fair, equitable framework for funding.”

 

Under the previous system, most family providers were not eligible for government support, limiting child-care access in smaller rural communties. There was no consistent or equitable formula to establish how much government funding each group centre received. For example, government funding to group centres caring for infants and children up to three years old averaged $163 per child, but could range from no funding at all to as high as $300 for a small minority of providers.

 

The new model will integrate three programs into one, ensuring better use of existing resources and eliminating unnecessary costs. A consistent funding formula will be used to determine how much each provider receives. For the first time, all licensed family providers will qualify for funding, benefiting rural communities, which tend to have more family care providers.

 

More than 1,400 licensed family and group child-care providers will be eligible for government funding for the first time. The number of government-supported child-care spaces will increase from 45,000 to 70,000.

 

            “The new program has benefits for both child-care providers and families,” said Wendy Cooper, chair of the Provincial Child-Care Council and operator of a centre in Port Coquitlam. “It provides incentive for child-care operators to offer new infant and toddler spaces, an identified gap in many communities. It makes funding more equitable for all child-care providers and eliminates time-consuming administrative work by consolidating funding streams into one.”

 

            The new funding formula will be based on the cost of providing care and the number of children enrolled in a child-care program. Funding for infant and toddler care, for example, is at the highest rate because of the extra staff needed to provide this kind of care. The new program will have a budget of $48 million in 2003-04. The program replaces the compensation contribution program, the infant/toddler incentive grant, and the out-of-school care transition funding program.

 

 

 

“I heard the concerns raised by parents and child-care providers over the last year,” said Stephens. “Their message was clear. They need simple, fair and predictable funding to help them provide quality services and more options to B.C.’s families. This funding program will meet that need, allowing funding to be more equitable and maximizing the benefits for families.”

 

The application form for the new child-care operating funding program will be mailed to eligible child-care providers in December. The new funding program begins in April 2003. For more information, visit the ministry home page at www.gov.bc.ca/mcaws and click on the Child Care link.

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