Earlier this week, Minister of State for Child Care Mitzi Dean reminded the sector that effective April 1, families looking for licensed child care can no longer be charged a fee to put their children’s names on waitlists.
Eliminating waitlist and waitlist-related fees at government-funded child care centres makes access to child care more equitable for all families and is another way that government is reducing the cost of child care. Through B.C.’s child care affordability programs, government has brought the average daily cost of child care for children 12 and under down to $18 from $42.
In addition to the more than 15,000 spaces in $10 a Day ChildCareBC program, approximately 128,000 families are saving up to $900 per month per child through the fee reduction program. When combined with the income-tested Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB), many families are paying $10 a day or less for child care, including those not participating in the $10 a Day program.