An extra 20-million dollars are being invested by the province to help child care providers power through many of the struggles they encountered during the pandemic.
The money will come via the 2022 Health and Safety Grant, which can be used to buy cleaning supplies, sanitizer, or masks, hire an external company to clean, or additional staff to cover illness-related absences.
“Child care professionals are the heart of child care and they have been working tirelessly since the pandemic started. As a parent of a young child, I know first-hand the tremendous difference their support is making to families and communities,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care.
“We are committed to responding to the needs of child care providers during this ever-changing situation. These new grants will help child care providers continue to keep children safe and healthy by providing funding for COVID-related staffing, supplies and cleaning needs.”
Providers who are open and receive provincial funding will get a grant of $160 per space based on the facility’s maximum capacity.
For example, a group provider that has 25 spaces could receive up to $4000.
“Making sure that child care centres continue to be safe spaces for children and professionals is a top priority,” Chen said.
“That’s why, since spring 2020, we have provided more than $320 million in temporary emergency funding and, with this, more than $73 million in health and safety grants. We will continue to support child care providers to navigate the pandemic as we work toward our ChildCareBC plan to make child care a core service available to every family that wants it, when they need it, at a price they can afford.”