Burns Lake chosen as universal child care prototype site

Little Angels Daycare in Burns Lake is one of the 50 sites chosen by the British Columbia government as part of its universal child care prototype project.

Families who send their children here pay $10 a day for daycare - or $200 per month - under the program, according to a news release on Nov. 9 from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

That fee is far less than the $1,000 per month that many families normally pay, Nikki Joyce, Manager of Little Angels Daycare, told Lakes District News.

The Beanstalk Childcare Centre in Houston was also a chosen as a site under the program.

The Burns Lake Band operates the daycare, which offers Indigenous programming for the children including cultural activities, language learning, drumming and dancing.The centre also offers care to children with extra support needs by providing early intervention services with speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists to families who may need these supports

The Childcare BC Universal Prototype Sites provide models for how affordable, high quality, universal child care can be done for families in the province.

About 2,500 children province-wide are expected to be included in the sites.

Funding for the project comes from a $60-million investment through the Early Learning and Child Care agreement with the federal government.

It comes in addition to the B.C. government's $1-billion, three-year investment through Childcare BC to realize the goal of affordable and accessible child care for any family.

Parents who are not accessing these low-cost spaces may still be eligible for support through the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which provides up to $1,250 per child a month for families with an annual income of $111,000 or less.