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Excerpt: "The Seamless Day Kindergarten pilot program will employ certified early childhood educators to provide before- and after-school care in kindergarten classrooms and to support learning alongside the classroom teacher. The program makes use of existing classrooms, outside of school hours, and does not require new rooms or buildings."

Excerpt: "More parents in B.C.’s Interior will be able to pursue their work or education goals, thanks to 84 licensed child care spaces and a further 79 spaces that are expected to open by March 2022."

Excerpt: "BC and Canada agree on the goal of $10 per day child care, and will work together towards achieving this goal for ages children aged 0 to 5 within 5 years. The ability to afford child care remains a significant barrier for families in BC. The fiscal year 2020 to 2021 average fees for group/centre-based care varies from $1,000 per month per child for infant care (after the $350 per month CCFRI fee reduction) to $470 per month per child for before/after school careFootnote 6. The introduction of CCFRI in 2018 rolled back child care fees; however, as fees continue to rise each year due to inflation, increased wages, etc., fees for some care types have returned to pre-CCFRI levels."

Excerpt: "People looking to build careers in child care will have more educational opportunities with the addition of 147 early childhood educator (ECE) seats at eight public post-secondary institutions throughout the province."

Excerpt: "EXPANDING CHILD CARE: The pandemic shone a light on how important reliable and affordable child care is. It gives kids an early start on the path to learning and it helps parents return to work and pursue opportunities. For too long, investing in child care was not the priority it should have been. Many parents felt left behind by rising fees and long waiting lists. Your government has been working hard to change that. Families are already benefiting from thousands of new spaces and saving up to $19,000 a year in lower fees. Your government will build on the progress made by more than doubling $10-a-day spaces and reducing average fees by as much as 50% by the end of this year. Our province is closer than ever to having the first new social program in a generation. A future where child care is a core service – available to every family that wants it, when they need it, at a price they can afford. As part of that work, your government will move responsibility for child care into the Ministry of Education this year, which will manage child care programs through new regional offices. This new, regional approach will allow your government to better understand local needs as it continues to build more spaces for families. Over time, this will bring certainty and reliability to child care. The same way that parents feel knowing that they have a public school to send their kids to."

Excerpt: "Federal early childhood workforce funding will be allocated through several ECE support streams and may be adjusted incrementally to better support programs in high demand, including: $25.5 million to continue providing ECE student bursaries for the next three to four years; $11.6 million to support the development and delivery of a recruitment and retention incentive program to encourage new ECEs who become certified through the ECE Registry to work in the sector, and to improve information and understanding about ECE retention; $7.5 million in professional development, inclusion support and deaf/hard-of-hearing training, and peer mentoring, including $3 million to be funded through West Coast Child Care Resource Centre for bursaries to assist child care professionals in accessing affordable professional learning; $2.3 million toward a work-integrated approach that gives ECE students the opportunity to become certified while maintaining employment as a child care professional; $1.15 million for the dual credit program so high school students can more quickly get their ECE certification (with the Province contributing an additional $575,000 in 2021-22); and $750,000 to translate francophone ECE credentials or those from other countries to help certify new British Columbians to work as ECEs."

Excerpt: "Budget 2022 brings B.C. closer than ever to government’s planned $10-a-day child care; Through a new agreement with the federal government, fees for full-day infant and toddler care will be reduced by 50% to an average of approximately $20 a day by the end of 2022; Budget 2022 builds on that investment by cutting average fees for preschool and before- and after-school care to less than $20 a day for the 2023-24 school year."

Excerpt: "Early childhood educators are skilled professionals who care for children at the most important time of their lives. We can’t deliver child care without them and will need about 10,000 ECEs to join the profession over the next 10 years. The PNP program will help us address the ECE staff shortage throughout B.C. by helping us recruit more ECEs. We are also raising wages, expanding education and training, and offering bursaries for people who want to enter this rewarding and in-demand career."

Excerpt: "On April 1, 2022, the eligibility for these wage enhancements expanded to ensure more ECEs will benefit. Previously, the $4-an-hour wage enhancement program was only available to front-line ECEs working directly with children. Budget 2022 is providing nearly $80 million over the next three years to expand this enhancement to all ECEs directly employed by licensed child care programs, including Supported Child Development and Aboriginal Supported Child Development professionals with ECE certification."

Excerpt: "Under Budget 2021, the Province committed to expanding the number of $10 a Day spaces in B.C. by converting 3,750 licensed child care spaces into low-cost spaces for families. The B.C. government has now surpassed this goal by creating 4,015 $10 a Day spaces for families in communities throughout B.C."

Excerpt: "More parents in northern B.C. will be able to pursue work, school and other opportunities while knowing their children are cared for as the Province invests in nearly 280 new licensed child care spaces. "For years, parents in B.C. were left with a patchwork system where child care was treated as a luxury. As we enter the fifth year of our 10-year ChildCareBC plan, we are making significant progress to reverse this," said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. "We've been working to turn the corner by building new spaces, lowering fees and training the skilled professionals needed to offer quality child care as a core service available to every family that wants it at a price they can afford.""

Excerpt: "BC will allocate funds through its existing contract to support students for 3 to 4 academic years (fiscal year 2021 to 2022 through fiscal year 2023 to 2024 or fiscal year 2024 to 2025) and will ensure collaboration with Indigenous partners and rights holders on approaches to funding specific to Indigenous students. Students will continue to be able to apply for the student bursary stream at $500 per course (maximum of 8 courses per semester) to assist with tuition and living costs. Individuals actively working in child care who wish to upgrade their credentials will be able to continue to apply for the workforce bursary stream of up to $5,000 per semester to assist with tuition and other expenses such as loss of wages or travel. Amounts for the Indigenous bursary stream will be determined in consultation with Indigenous partners. Students can apply for bursaries for each semester they are taking courses, so one student can potentially receive multiple bursaries. BC commits to continuing to report out on outcomes for as long as the program is available through this funding."