School districts started preparing their 2024/25 and 2025/26 capital plans for child care using the expanded Capital Asset Planning System (CAPS) on April 8. Submissions for 2024/25 will be accepted until May 15, and submissions for 2025/26 will close in alignment with the K–12 capital planning cycle, available in the Capital Planning instructions.
To help ensure fair and equitable access to capital funding, school district requests will be considered at the same time as other applications to the New Spaces Fund. The ministry will review requests after the intake closes on May 15, select projects and notify school districts if they have been selected to move forward. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified. For more information, refer to the Capital Plan Instructions.
This change makes it easier for school boards to plan for and create even more child care spaces on school grounds for families in their district. It will also help the ministry consider school district child care projects alongside education projects.
School districts with questions about the process or capital concept development can contact the Capital Management Branch’s Child Care Regional Director/Planning Officer team. School districts with questions about child care operational planning and programming can contact the Child Care Development Support team at ccdevsupport@gov.bc.ca.
All other eligible public sector applicants can apply to the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund through the existing application process starting in spring 2024.