A local politician is spearheading a BC Government initiative to save money for families on child care costs.
Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy, who is Minister of Children and Family Development, hopes this will help towards easing the province’s child care crisis. She says the child care fee reduction is available for families with children up to kindergarten age in licensed care facilities. She says child care affordability and availability has been an ongoing issue in BC for years.
The fee reduction will save parents $60 a month for each child in family care for kids aged 3 years to kindergarten. It also includes $100 per month for each child in group care for the same ages. Families with children in family infant and toddler care can save $200 per month per child. Families with children in group infant and toddler care can save $350 per child monthly.
Conroy says this will help the government reach its goal of reducing child care costs for low-income families by $1,250 monthly by 2021.
The deadline to opt in for the fee reduction is April 20. After that, providers can sign up for savings for future months at any time.
The BC Government pledged over $1 billion in investments for child care in its 2018 budget.
