EXCERPTS
CHILD CARE
Child care facilities and early childhood educators continue to be essential to the province wide response to COVID-19 and critical to restoring services. To minimize risk:
- licensed child care centres have been reduced to a maximum of sixteen children per centre;
- home-based child care providers continue to provide care to a maximum of eight children;
and
- enhanced guidelines for hygiene, infection prevention protocols and other measures were implemented.
Child care plays an important role in restoring services, enabling parents to return to the workplace, and it remains a key priority for the Manitoba government. As of late April 2020, more than 1,100 child care spaces are vacant in open facilities to support additional families seeking child care. Eligibility for child care has been extended to all Manitobans who are working or returning to work.
Manitoba Families will continue to work with the child care sector to help ensure that families can access child care if they need it. This includes the grant program administered by the Winnipeg and Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, where child care workers can receive assistance opening new child care spaces in their homes or community space.
More information on child care services during COVID-19, including website, can be found at: Manitoba.ca/covid19.