Alberta receives $45-million from the federal government to support child care

· $29 million for affordability

o The province said via a simpler formula and renewed investment in child care subsidy, 16,000 lower-income families will pay an average of $25 per day for child care compared with about 7,500 families of all incomes paying $25 per day in the former pilot project.

o Parents of more than 24,500 children will see their subsidy support go up by 18 percent and parents of another 3,500 will see subsidy increases.

· $9.7 million for accessability

o The new Inclusive Child Care program will expand on the pilot to provide child care operators access to coaching, professional development and funding for additional staff to support children with complex needs.

o Providing programs that address cultural and linguistic needs, like Indigenous and Francophone programs.

o Creating up to 385 spaces this year in communities with high need and working with operators, communities and parents on innovative solutions for parents who work outside of typical business hours.

· $4.7 million for quality

o The Flight curriculum, a framework that helps guide early learning and child care educators for young children, will be made available online to all child care centres.

o Supporting ongoing professional development to ensure Alberta has a well-trained and highly skilled early childhood workforce.

“Accessible, affordable, high-quality child care is an important part of our economic recovery,” said Alberta’s Minister of Children’s Services Rebecca Schulz.

“The investment will ensure tens of thousands of parents, especially women and single parents, can enter the workforce while also supporting parent choice and parents’ diverse needs. We thanks the federal government for working with us to invest in Alberta’s working parents.”

The province noted that with this latest funding, the federally-funded Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Centre pilot program will come to a conclusion in March 2021.

The pilot provides quality child care for children until kindergarten with maximum fees of $25 per day.

Provincial funding of Phase 1 ELCC Centres will last until July 31.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

The renegotiated agreement also includes $10 million carried over from the previous agreement to be rolled into Phase 3 of Alberta’s child care relief funding that will help support child care, out-of-school care and preschools.

Combined with the $19 million the provincial government has committed in child care relief, total funding support will be close to $30 million, according to the province.

More on Alberta’s child care response amid the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here.

by Justin Goulet

Alberta receives $45-million from the federal government to support child care

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