ChildCareBC Bulletin

Edition 91, August 21, 2024

Archived editions

ChildCareBC releases Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres

British Columbia is building a future where access to affordable, quality, culturally safe and inclusive child care is a core service that families can depend on. ChildCareBC’s goal is to encourage quality space creation throughout the province to meet the high demand for child care.

On August 19, 2024, the Ministry of Education and Child Care published the Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres (design guidelines) as a resource to help organizations with child care space creation projects achieve a balance between consistent, quality and functional child care centre designs.

The design guidelines build on the health and safety standards in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation. It is important to note that the Act and Regulation continue to be the standards that must be met in order to get licensed in British Columbia.

The design guidelines will help organizations create centres that are safe, accessible and promote health and well-being of children, educators and families.

The design guidelines may be used by a variety of audiences and professionals and are meant to be a resource for the sector. They are available for consideration and are not mandatory. Some new centres may not be able to meet elements of this guidance due to the unique aspects of their project. Professionals are expected to rely on their professional judgement when applying the guidelines to child care projects. 

The Child Care Community Development team supports community-level child care development across the province and is available to support public and non-profit organizations including Indigenous organizations and First Nations governments with project concept development. This includes identifying potential partnerships, considering viable operational models and workforce development to sustain child care projects once construction is complete. School districts with questions about capital concept development can contact their Regional Director and Planning Officer team.

Improving access to child care for B.C. families requires long-term, sustainable growth along with growth in the early childhood professional workforce’s capacity to provide these important services. Learn more about how government is taking action to recruit and retain early childhood professionals and lift up the child care sector on the Support for Early Childhood Professionals web page. 

Important information and reminders for the 2024-25 Child Care Operating Funding term

As a reminder, child care providers who receive Child Care Operating Funding (CCOF) must report any changes to licence and service details since renewal, within two business days of the change.

To help ensure accurate payments, wait for written confirmation that the change has been completed before submitting an enrolment report or a monthly Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement (ECE-WE) report.

Changes will not take effect in a month that:

• The funding agreement starts
• The funding agreement has already been modified
• You submitted an enrolment report and received payment
• You submitted a monthly ECE report and received payment

More information is available on the Report Changes web page. Child care providers can report changes using the self-service option available on My ChildCareBC Services. To access this feature, log in to My ChildCareBC Services and select “Report a change” on your dashboard.

Under certain circumstances, child care providers can also request a mid-term fee increase using My ChildCareBC Services. To access, log in to My ChildCareBC Services and select “Report a change” on your dashboard, then choose “update parent fees” and then indicate the facility the request is for.

Once the CCOF team has reviewed your mid-term fee increase request, they will let you know the results of the request to increase parent fees. As a reminder, written approval from the ministry must be received before implementing a proposed fee increase.

The Child Care Operating Funding program is available if you have any questions or require assistance at 1-888-338-6622 (Option 2).

Reminder: Provincial election interregnum begins in B.C. on September 21, 2024

The 2024 British Columbia general election is scheduled for October 19, 2024. Starting September 21, 2024, when the election is officially called, the B.C. government will enter a caretaker period which limits government communication to statutory, routine, emergency or public health and safety matters.

The caretaker period will end when a new government is formed and sworn in, which is anticipated to be late November or early December. During this time, routine government work will continue as usual.

During the caretaker period, government must refrain from committing the incoming government to any new actions or policies, and government communication will pause.

• There will be no new announcements from ChildCareBC
• ChildCareBC website updates and the ChildCareBC Bulletin will be paused
• Public and child care sector engagements will also be placed on hold, including the Provincial Child Care Council and the Child Care Communications Advisory Group

Families, providers and the early childhood workforce will continue to be supported through ChildCareBC programs during the caretaker period.

Current ChildCareBC programs, including the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program and Operating Funding Model, Child Care Operating Funding, Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, Start-up Grants and Maintenance Fund programs will continue without interruption.

The ChildCareBC contact centre will remain open to provide support to families, child care providers and the workforce from Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at 1-888-338-6622.

Reminder: Emergency Management Resource package for child care facilities and school districts

The Ministry of Education and Child Care has created resources to support child care facilities and school districts with emergency preparedness, response and recovery. The Education and Child Care Emergency Management Support Key Contacts 2024 includes key contact information for ministry and partner staff in the event of emergency. This document is intended for child care facilities, school districts and independent schools.

The Information Package – Emergency Management 2024 is a collection of information and resources for child care facilities, school administrators, independent schools, families and community regarding emergency management, wildfires, heat events, mental health and well-being, financial resources and droughts.