Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative - Information for providers

To be eligible for the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, the child care centre must have a Child Care Operating Funding agreement in place, enrol all eligible care categories offered at the same location, and offer child care in at least one eligible child care category:

• Group child care
  • Infant and toddler care (under 36 months)
  • Kindergarten (before- and after-school care)
  • Aged 3 years to kindergarten
  • Grade 1 to age 12
• Family child care
  • Infant and toddler care (under 36 months)
  • Kindergarten (before- and after-school care)
  • Aged 3 years to kindergarten
  • Grade 1 to age 12
• Licensed preschool (four hours or less)

New applicants and modified facilities are required to set their parent fees in line with the regional affordability benchmarks of other local providers delivering the same type of care. Centres that do not charge a parent fee may still be eligible for the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative.

Refer to the funding guidelines for information on full eligibility requirements and regional affordability benchmarks, or contact the ministry to discuss your eligibility and application.

• 2025-26 CCFRI Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026)
• 2024-25 CCFRI Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025)

Child Care Operating Funding base funding may be paid when a centre is temporarily closed due to an emergency. Eligible circumstances include:

• Unplanned closures due to evacuation order or similar restrictions issued by a First Nation, provincial, federal, municipal government or health authority
• Natural disasters
• External circumstances outside the provider’s control, at the ministry’s discretion

Emergencies that were preventable or originated within the centre, and permanent closures are not eligible.

To ensure consistent fee reductions for parents, closures outside of the provider’s control may also be eligible for Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative funding if the centre is approved to collect parent fees.

Early childhood educator wage enhancement funding is also available during periods of unplanned temporary closure if the provider continues to pay staff wages.

To report an emergency closure and request funding, please email CCOF@gov.bc.ca. The ministry will review your request and advise on the next steps. Include the following information when you contact the ministry:

• Name of child care centre
• Facility ID (e.g. F/G-XXXXXX-XXXXXX)
• Closure date
• Expected reopen date
• Reasons for closure
• Type of funding being requested

Please visit and contact the Canada Revenue Agency for support with your specific tax questions.

The parent fee reduction amounts and the provider payment rates are based on data received from over 5,000 licensed child care facilities each year, which indicates that, on average:

• Fees at group facilities are higher for most care categories than at family facilities
• Monthly operational expenses (e.g., wages, program supplies, rent/lease, etc.) at group facilities are higher than those at family facilities

Provider payments are provided in addition to Child Care Operating Funding, Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement and parent fee reductions and can be used for operational costs related to child care, including staff wages.

Fee reduction amounts may be different for group and family care, but they result in similar average child care costs for families.

This table highlights some of the key differences between the $10 a Day ChildCareBC and Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative programs.

No, funding (including Child Care Operating Funding Base Funding and the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative) can only be claimed when the person providing care is not the parent (defined as a person with whom a child resides and who stands in place of a parent of the child). This is based on the definition of child care in the Child Care BC Act under which Child Care Operating Funding and the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative are provided.

In the case of a group facility, if another staff member at the facility is the primary caregiver for the children of the owner or licensee, funding can be claimed for these children.

If a provider is caring for children related to them, whether the care is provided at a group or family child care centre, funding can be claimed for these children as long as the relative is not standing in place of the parent.

Providers in the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative agree not to charge full-time parent fees for any periods of closure without Ministry approval. Each facility’s planned closures are reviewed as part of a provider's application. Refer to the CCFRI Funding Guidelines for the complete closure policy.

We understand that both parents and providers rely on consistent payments. To ensure consistent fee reductions for parents, approved closure periods are eligible for CCFRI.

The Ministry provides the same fee reductions during approved closure periods as the facility would typically receive when open.

Participation rates during the 2024-25 funding term indicate that the majority of providers were approved to participate in the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative program.

For 2025-26, the Ministry has kept the fee increase limits at 3% and 10% of the regional median fee and affordability benchmarks at the 75th and 80th percentiles. A recent evaluation of program data from Summer 2024 indicates that nearly all applicants were approved for funding without a fee increase or at or below the 3% fee increase limit.

The ministry regularly reviews policies to ensure that they are responsive to the sector and provide the greatest possible benefit of government investments to B.C. families.