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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
VICTORIA – Nine thousand children, many of them in single-parent families, are expected to benefit from a change to thechild-care subsidy income threshold, Minister of State for Women’s Equality Lynn Stephens announced today.
“We committed to managing resources efficiently, and to focusing taxpayers’ dollars on people who are most in need,” Stephens said. “By managing its budget carefully, the Ministry of Human Resources has been able to allocate savings so that more low-income families can have help with their child-care costs.
“The majority of recipients of child-care subsidies are single-parent families, most of which are headed by women. Increased access to child-care subsidy will help these women with the costs of child care, allowing them to pursue training and find and keep jobs.”
The income threshold at which parents can receive the child-care subsidy will be raised by $100 starting in May. Three thousand more children will be eligible for the subsidy. Another 6,000 children will see an increase in their funding.
As announced in the throne speech, the child-care subsidy program will also be consolidated under the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, making program delivery more efficient and effective. The Ministry of Human Resources currently administers the subsidy to about 33,000 children in low-income families.
The child-care subsidy is a monthly payment that helps low-income families with costs for child care that best suits their needs.
“Access to child care is a significant component in achieving our goal of helping parents to gain employment and achieve financial independence,” said Murray Coell, Minister of Human Resources. “These changes to the child-care subsidy program will contribute to this goal.”
“This will have a positive impact on families and providers,” said child-care provider Wendy Cooper, who is also chair of the Provincial Child Care Council. “The child-care community has been calling on government to consolidate child-care responsibility to improve consistency, and this move will facilitate a more co-ordinated approach to child-care planning and service delivery.”
Today’s changes build on earlier measures to increase child-care choices. In November, Stephens announced a new child-care funding model that will increase the number of government-funded child-care spaces by over 50 per cent, from 45,000 to 70,000.
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