Excerpts
The Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, Minister of Education, was joined by the Honourable Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development today to announce several measures to help increase child care capacity throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
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The initiatives include an increase in funding availability and supports for the sector offered through the Child Care Capacity Initiative program, including:
- $7.5 million in funding to support infrastructure and renovations to regulated child care services availing of the operating grant program, to increase child care capacity by 750 spaces, with priority for the creation of toddler spaces in not-for-profit child care services;
- The hiring of a Project Manager within the Provincial Government to oversee and support not-for-profit child care capacity projects; and
- An increase to the personnel budget category of projects operating under the Child Care Capacity Initiative program, which includes an hourly wage increase from $17 per hour to $25 per hour for developmental workers.
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The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Action Plan is increasing access to regulated child care through the creation of approximately 6,000 spaces by 2025-26, as well as improving affordability, inclusivity and the quality of early learning and child care programming in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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There are currently over 8,300 child care spaces operating at $10-a-day or less in the province, with government on track to achieve the creation of 1,000 new spaces in 2023.
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“We cannot build a national Early Learning and Child Care system without creating new child care spaces. Programs like Newfoundland and Labrador’s Child Care Capacity Initiative will help us reach our goal of creating 250,000 new spaces across Canada by 2026, and provides children and families in the province better access to high-quality, inclusive, flexible and affordable early learning and child care opportunities. We remain committed to our common goal of giving all children in Canada the best possible start in life.”
- Honourable Jenna Sudds
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
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