Building child care into schools with the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund

The Government of B.C. is investing $1.3 billion over the next three years to lay the groundwork for a new universal child care system for B.C. families. The goal is to provide affordable, quality child care that is available to every family that wants or needs it.

The Childcare BC New Spaces Fund is providing $221 million to support government’s goal of funding the creation of 22,000 new licensed child care spaces in B.C. by 2021. Public sector partners are critical to reaching this ambitious goal. Adding child care on school grounds provides a safe, convenient location for families who may need to also drop off older children, and the green space at schools is especially beneficial in urban locations where land is scarce and prohibitively expensive.

School districts can apply to the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund at any time – you can submit your application for funding when your project is ready. A public-sector organization that is directly operating a child care facility – or partnering with a non-profit organization to run a facility – can apply for up to $1 million per facility in order to create affordable licensed child care spaces for children from birth to age 12.

Several school districts have already started building child care centres on school property to meet the need in their communities. Each district uses a different approach, depending on their resources, space available, and the costs of construction in their area. Here are three projects that the Ministry of Children and Family Development has funded in the last two years, and that we are pleased to showcase!

GREATER VICToRIA SCHool DISTRICT 61

• Creating 443 spaces at six schools, opening between September 2019 and June 2020. • These new facilities will house a total of 32 infant-toddler spaces, 76 spaces for children aged three years to kindergarten, 28 preschool spaces, and 323 out-of-school care spaces. • The design-build child care modular construction will meet licensing and child care operator needs. • District staff will be building the modular centres. • The district received a total of $4,606,650 through the Province’s Childcare BC New Spaces Fund in October 2018.

MAPlE RIDGE-PITT MEADoWS SCHool DISTRICT 42

• Creating 308 spaces on school grounds at eight schools, including: — One Neighbourhood Learning Centre with an early years wing that is scheduled to open in fall 2019. — Seven fully serviced portables on elementary school grounds that are scheduled to open in August 2019. • Each facility will include 20 preschool and 24 out-of-school care spaces. • The district received a total of $2,934,575 through MCFD’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program in

December 2017.

PEACE RIVER noRTH SCHool DISTRICT 60

• Created 37 spaces – 12 infant-toddler spaces and 25 spaces for children aged three years to kindergarten – at a child care centre at the Margaret Ma Murray Community School in Fort St. John (opened Aug. 1, 2018). • The district received $500,000 through MCFD’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program in December 2017. • The child care facility is operated by the YMCA of Northern BC. • BC Hydro also contributed $1.8 million to the project.

For more information on the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund, please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund.

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