Excerpts from the press release:
B.C. is making it possible to expand before- and after-school child-care programs for all school-age children and also help families get ready for full-day kindergarten this September, announced Mary Polak, Minister of Children and Family Development. "While a full school day will eliminate or reduce child-care needs for some families, others who plan to return to work may need child care for the first time," said Polak. "We are boosting capacity for these families, in particular." The new space limits for group facilities that care for school-age children are as follows:
Facilities with kindergarten and Grade 1 students present can take in four additional children, to a new maximum of 24.
Facilities with no kindergarten and Grade 1 students present (Grade 2 and up) can increase by five spaces, to a maximum of 30 children.
With approximately 1,100 group school-age facilities licensed across the province -- nearly half of them on school grounds -- the increase has the potential to create hundreds of new before- and after-school spaces. Each centre that expands is eligible for increased operating funding from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.