Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative - Information for families
Last updated on March 15, 2024
Families do not need to apply and savings are passed on directly by providers each month through reduced costs for each child in a participating licensed child care centre.
On this page:
- New for 2024-25
- Eligibility
- Estimate your child care fee savings
- Full-time rates
- Part-time rates
- Other child care fees and fee increase
- Frequently asked questions
New for 2024-25
- Starting in 2024-25, the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative will align with education-based regions. Changing to education-based regions will help the program remain regionally responsive and further child care’s integration into the Ministry of Education and Child Care
- Starting April 1, 2024, child care providers receiving Child Care Operating Funding can no longer charge waitlist and waitlist-related fees. This will ensure that waitlist fees are not a financial barrier for families seeking equitable access for child care throughout the province
Eligibility
Families with children 12 and under at participating child care facilities are eligible for the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative. The program is not income tested and parents do not have to apply.
To find providers participating in the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, please refer to the CCFRI Estimator or Child Care Map. Contact your child care provider to find out if they are enrolled or plan to enrol in the program.
Estimate your child care fee savings
Use the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative Estimator to see how much you may be able to save on your child care fees. This estimation is not a guarantee of payment and does not consider individual circumstances, such as sibling discounts.
Out-of-pocket fees for families, after the applicable fee reductions, will not be reduced below $200 a month for full-time care, with limited exceptions. Part-time care receives a pro-rated amount. Families with a household income of up to $111,000 may receive additional savings through the Affordable Child Care Benefit.
Child care providers with an application in process, including open applications for a mid-term fee increase, will not appear in search results.
Full-time rates
Families receive up to $900 per month per child to reduce parent fees for full-time care. Part-time care receives a pro-rated amount.
Note: the fee that is reduced does not include optional fees. Providers adding a new optional fee for services previously included in the parent fee must first receive approval from the ministry.
An online child care fee estimator is available to help you estimate your child care fees. Refer to the 2023-24 Funding Guidelines for more information about optional fees.
- 2023-24 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024)
- 2024-25 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025)
Rates
These amounts are effective September 2023. The maximum amounts available to reduce parent fees are in the table below.
| Infant and toddler under 36 months |
|
|---|---|
| Ages 3 to kindergarten |
|
| Preschool |
|
| Kindergarten |
|
| Grade 1 to age 12 |
|
Part-time care is eligible for pro-rated fee reductions. Children enrolled four hours or less per day receive reductions at 50% of the full-day (over four hours) rate. Monthly fee reductions are also pro-rated for children enrolled fewer than five days per week.
As preschool programs only provide care for four hours or less per day to each child, there is no over-four-hours rate. The maximum monthly fee reduction of $95 for half-day preschool care will be pro-rated for children enrolled fewer than five days per week.
Families can use the child care fee estimator for their part-time child care fees and fee reduction amounts.
Other child care fees and fee increases
Child care providers that receive Child Care Operating Funding and Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative funding are independent businesses that can set fees for waitlists or optional services, take deposits to hold spaces, and issue refunds at their discretion.
Waitlist fees and deposits to hold spaces
Waitlist and waitlist-related fees are any refundable or non-refundable fee associated with being added to, maintaining or changing a child’s position on a facility’s waitlist to access care. The ministry has the sole discretion to determine whether something is a waitlist fee.
In 2023-24, most participating child care providers, approximately 95%, did not charge a waitlist fee.
Starting April 1, 2024, child care providers receiving Child Care Operating Funding can no longer charge waitlist or waitlist-related fees. This will ensure that waitlist fees are not a financial barrier for families seeking equitable access for child care throughout the province. Providers are not required to refund waitlist fees collected before April 1, 2024.
Optional fees
Some providers participating in the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative may charge fees for optional services, such as meals or pick-up and drop-off service. Families can opt out of these services with the expectation that their child will receive usual and continuous care at a child care centre. The ministry has sole discretion to determine whether a fee is optional. Refer to the funding guidelines for information on optional fees.
- 2023-24 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024)
- 2024-25 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025)
Fee increases
For 2024-25, fee increase limits are unchanged and remain at 3% of the regional median fee. These limits support families to access affordable child care. In addition to the 3% fee increase, providers are supported through base funding, fee reductions for families, provider payments, and the Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement.
In 2023-24, the vast majority of child care providers either did not request fee increases or worked within the fee increase limits. As of November 2023, 80% of applications to the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative were approved with a fee increase at or below the fee increase limit, or no fee increase at all.
A reduction in hours of operation for services previously included in the parent fee, newly added fees for the same hours or services, and new or increased administrative fees are all considered a parent fee increase. Refer to the funding guidelines for information on parent fee increases.
- 2023-24 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024)
- 2024-25 Funding Guidelines (PDF) (effective April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025)
Frequently asked questions
What is the $200 minimum parent fee?
To align with $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres and government’s longer-term vision for $10 a day child care as a core service, parent fees will not be reduced below $200 per month, or $10 a day, with limited exceptions. For children enrolled in child care for four hours or less per day, including preschool programs, the minimum fee is $140 per month, or $7 a day.
What happens if the maximum rates result in our fees being lower than the minimum parent fee?
Parent fees will not be reduced below $200 per month, or $10 a day, with limited exceptions. If the maximum fee reduction results in the parent fee being below $200 per month, the fee reduction amount is adjusted so that the parent fee is $200 per month. Families eligible for the Affordable Child Care Benefit may pay less than what is listed in the table, or even nothing at all, depending on their income and other eligibility factors.
What happens if my fees are already at or below the minimum parent fee?
A small number of child care facilities currently charging less than $200 per month (after the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative) will be supported to continue doing so – they will not be required to charge families more as a result of the minimum fee.
Why can participating providers charge different rates? Doesn’t that result in some families getting less of a reduction?
Child care providers in British Columbia operate as independent organizations and set their own fees. The Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative is designed to provide immediate relief to families by substantially reducing their out-of-pocket costs. Families accessing the same care type will receive the same amount of fee reduction, except in cases where providing the maximum fee reduction amount would result in their out-of-pocket costs being reduced below the $200 per month of $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres.
Where can I learn more about inclusive child care?
Access ChildCareBC's Inclusive child care web page for resources and information on inclusive child care.