Central Interior parents to benefit from new child care spaces

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

Editor's Note -- 100 Mile House is to receive 5 daycare spaces while Alexis Creek is to receive 76 spaces.  Purpose (100 Mile House): Renovations will add five licensed school-age spaces to the existing seven child care spaces currently at Small Explorers, expected to open in September 2021. The facility is wheelchair accessible and offers inclusive care for children with support needs. 

Purpose (Alexis Creek): Tl’etinqox Government is building the new ‘Anaham Children’ child care centre next to the community school and adult learning centre. A total of 76 new licensed spaces will be created – 12 infant/toddler spaces, 16 spaces for children aged three years to kindergarten, 16 preschool spaces and 32 spaces for school-age children. The centre will deliver cultural and language programs, along with parenting workshops and a breakfast and lunch program with traditional foods. The centre is expected to open in August 2021.

Families in the central Interior will have access to nearly 230 new licensed child care spaces as part of the Province’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to child care through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

“These new child care spaces for families in the central Interior are bringing us one step closer to delivering the quality, affordable and inclusive child care that all B.C. families deserve,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “Child care for families is key to B.C.’s economic recovery, and these new spaces will make it easier for parents, especially mothers who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, to return to work or school.”

The Childcare BC New Spaces Fund is supporting four projects that will create 228 new licensed child care spaces in 100 Mile House, Alexis Creek, Kamloops and Logan Lake. These spaces are part of the fastest creation of child care spaces in B.C.’s history and were part of the September 2020 milestone that marked more than 20,000 new spaces funded throughout the province in just over two years.

New child care spaces are on the way for families in the following communities: 

• 100 Mile House (five spaces)
• Alexis Creek (76 spaces)
• Kamloops (122 spaces)
• Logan Lake (25 spaces)

“I’ve been teaching young children for 22 years and running Small Explorers Daycare for 13 years in our small town of 100 Mile House,” said Jamie Hughes, owner, Small Explorers Daycare. “Our daycare has established deep roots in the community and helped shape many of our young people into the wonderful little humans they are. For us, Small Explorers Daycare is not just a business – it’s about the personal relationships and bonds formed between the child care provider and families.”

An additional 4,110 spaces, funded through the 2017 Budget Update and the Early Learning and Child Care agreement with the Government of Canada, takes the total number of new, licensed spaces funded in B.C. to more than 24,500 since July 2017.

“Supporting high-quality, inclusive child care is one way we’re helping children build the foundation they need to lead happy and healthy lives,” said Mitzi Dean, Minister of Children and Family Development. “The Tl’etinqox government’s work to build a new child care centre in Alexis Creek will give more children the opportunity to learn and grow surrounded by their community and culture.”

Quick Facts:

• Since July 2018, more than 20,000 new licensed child care spaces have been funded in British Columbia, including 509 in Kamloops and 33 in Logan Lake.
• Throughout the province, the Childcare BC plan has helped parents save up to $1,600 a month per child through the Affordable Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative. 
• As a result of these investments, parents in Alexis Creek, 100 Mile House, Kamloops and Logan Lake have saved more than $21.7 million.
• Early childhood educators in these communities have received more than $1.16 million in wage enhancements.
• Through B.C.’s combined affordability initiatives, more than 36,000 children have received child care for $10/day or less since the beginning of the Childcare BC plan.

Learn More:

For information on health and safety standards for child care during COVID-19, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/ChildCareCovid-19Response  

Child care factsheet: https://news.gov.bc.ca/18430

To learn more about the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund

For more about Childcare BC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare

For a French translation, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021CFD0019-000338#translations