Budget 2012 Invests $2 Million in Family Child Care

Through Budget 2012, the Provincial Government remains committed to providing affordable, accessible and quality child care services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Today, the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, announced $2 million for the second year of the Family Child Care Initiative, one of several key investments to be included in Budget 2012 to support child care.

“This investment reaffirms our government’s commitment to family child care services,” said Minister Johnson. “Building on last year’s investment, Budget 2012 will allocate $2 million to the Family Child Care Initiative, which continues to provide much needed regulated child care spaces to families with young children.”

This two-year pilot project is making great strides in the development of regulated child care spaces throughout the province with an emphasis on spaces for infants up to 24 months of age. To help support the province’s labour market and stimulate the economy, the Family Child Care Initiative is designed to provide people, especially women, with opportunities to enter and remain in the labour market by availing of these regulated child care spaces or by becoming a regulated child care provider.

Under this initiative, new family child care providers are offered support and training and, in partnership with the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, on-the-ground assistance with the business aspects of operating a family child care home.

“It is clear that this initiative is working for those interested in becoming family child care providers and those families seeking child care,” said Minister Johnson. “As of March 31, there were 29 newly approved or licensed family child care homes in operation throughout the province and an additional 48 applications received and in various stages of the approval process.”

Building on the momentum of a successful first year, the Family Child Care Initiative will continue to focus on stimulating growth in regulated family child care by:

• Providing start-up grants of $5,000 for homes that accommodate mixed-age groups; and,
• Providing up to $7,500 for homes that specialize in infant care.

In addition, the initiative provides an annual grant of $2,400 per infant space ($200 monthly per infant) to those family child care providers who care exclusively for children up to two years of age. This grant helps to keep rates attainable for parents requiring infant care, as well as offsets the loss of revenue associated with having the smaller group size required of these particular homes.

Minister Johnson also launched today a province-wide promotional campaign that provides information on the benefits of regulated family child care and the supports available through the initiative for potential family child care providers.

For more information on the Family Child Care Initiative, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/cyfs/childcare/family_child_care.html. 

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Media contact:
Michelle Hunt
Director of Communications
Department of Child, Youth and Family Services
709-729-5148, 725-1593
michellehunt@gov.nl.ca 

2012 04 18                          3:45 p.m.