Two Richmond childcare spaces have been approved as $10-a-day ChildCare BC sites.
Little Friends Childcare Centre on No. 3 and Steveston Hwy and Little Wings Daycare on Templeton St and Miller Rd are the latest childcare spaces in Richmond to join the roster. Fees at $10 a day sites are capped at a maximum of $200 a month per child.
“For too long, families have had to make sacrifices in order to ensure their children have adequate care,” said Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond-Steveston.
“By making childcare more accessible and affordable, more parents will be able to pursue their education and their careers knowing their child is thriving.”
Including the two Richmond spaces, a total of 18 new childcare spaces have been approved for the $10-a-day program.
According to the media release, B.C. now has a total of 8,190 $10-a-day spaces, including 304 for infants and toddlers, 552 for children two-and-a-half years old to kindergarten age, 385 for school-age children and 132 preschool spaces.
The Richmond News previously reported that Richmond ranked just behind Toronto with the second-highest childcare fees in the country. Increasing $10-a-day spaces is part of the province's strategy to make childcare more affordable.
The province is also introducing fee reductions of up to $550 more per month per child for parents not in the $10-a-day program. The savings will kick in on Dec. 1 and will be in addition to Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative savings of $350 per month. Approximately 69,000 families will benefit from these additional savings.
Richmond currently has a total of seven $10-a-day childcare sites, including the two that were just announced and three that were added back in March. More information on $10-a-day sites can be found here.
