New Spaces Fund resources

Design your construction project around the child care program that you’re planning to operate. It’s much easier to have a child care expert (such as an early childhood professional or an experienced child care provider) help guide the design of the project, to ensure the unique needs of the children occupying the space will be met. They might suggest design elements such as:

• windowed doors, so that you can see a child who might be on the other side before opening it
• storage cabinets with narrow shelves to store nap mats separately
• multiple sizes of toilets
• faucets that avoid water getting all over children
• no automatic lights or large windows in nap rooms
• if considering vaulted ceilings, be aware that acoustic treatments are a requirement even when budgets get constrained, as too much noise in child care can cause strain on staff and children
• windows at a child’s height that include treatments such as solid wood as protection to avoid damage from children’s toys
• wainscotting to protect walls from damage from toys and large play equipment
• adequate storage space, staff room, and adult-only bathrooms
• centrally located kitchen where staff can prepare food while continuing to monitor children
• change table and garbage disposal spaces at appropriate heights for ergonomic use
• innovative outdoor play space designs
• location of washing machine and/or dryer
• designing practical areas for parent drop off/pick up, covered stroller storage, access to outside, including ramps that don’t allow strollers, carts, etc., with children in them to roll into a parking lot
• types and styles of doors, latches, gates, and cabinets
• transportation considerations for school-aged children, parking, pick-up and drop-off areas
• age groups, sizes of groups, and programming have all been considered in advance, so that the project is feasible to operate sustainably
• in addition to the child care build, as part of a long-term community plan and in agreement with any funding partners, you may want to consider features to attract and retain child care staff, such as staff housing

An early childhood professional will be invaluable to designing a child care environment that is a desirable place to work. In addition to the design and construction of the child care centre, an early childhood professional may be able to consult on other important considerations. A well-planned and high-quality child care program will attract staff, as well as wages, benefits, pension and other incentives, such as flexible working arrangements or employer-funded education and training.

Check in with your local government as early as possible to ensure municipal zoning and bylaws will allow you to build and open your child care centre, including consideration of:

• parking requirements
• access roads
• underground infrastructure connections or upgrading requirements
• requirements for curb, gutter, sidewalks, or tree protection deposits
• requirements for sprinkler systems, elevators, or construction standards set by the BC Building Code
• allowances for ovens/stoves, and domestic appliances in a commercial building
• which section of the BC Building Code applies to your project (Section 3 or 9)
• timeframes for getting a building permit
• required inspections for your project (fire, building and electrical)
• site fire suppression requirements, such as fire hydrant or on-site cistern
• fire resistant waste bins
• other municipality-specific considerations

Check your floor plans and site plans to ensure that they will meet the physical space requirements of the Child Care Licensing Regulation, that are applicable to the type of child care that you intend to provide, such as:

• 3.7 square metres per child of indoor play space, which means the indoor area not including hallways, storage areas, bathrooms, and fixed or large appliances
• six square metres per child of outdoor play space
• a separate sleeping area located away from any activity area for children younger than 36 months of age
• one wash basin and toilet per 10 children

Contact a licensing officer and provide a copy of your floor plan drawn to scale before you begin any construction for the project. This is to ensure that you haven’t missed anything that might impact the health authority’s ability to issue you a licence for the number of children you propose to accommodate in your program or delay the licence application process.

Don’t forget to plan your outdoor play space! See the section below for more information.

Consider saving room in your project budget to have a project manager, or a team responsible for project management, with experience in constructing and operating child care facilities to provide support in getting your program up and running. This work might include:

• developing an overall project plan
• developing the operating model and budget, including setting parent fees and staff wages
• hiring staff, addressing any collective bargaining administration that might be required
• liaising with local post-secondary institutions that offer early childhood educator (ECE) programs that might require practicum placement, or may be a good place to recruit staff as students graduate
• negotiating a lease agreement
• arranging and participating in municipal and child care licensing inspections
• arranging and budgeting for the inspection and maintenance of elevators and sprinkler systems
• printing and displaying licences, occupancy, and operating permits
• setting up insurance, internet, janitorial, telephone or other services
• writing child care policies and program outlines
• developing an inclusion policy, and making a connection with Supported Child Development/Aboriginal Supported Child Development programs as needed
• developing parent guides
• developing a website
• advertising your centre’s opening
• registering families
• applying for the Child Care Operating Fund, Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, and ECE Wage Enhancement programs

Ensure you’ve included the required minimum of 10% contingency in your budget. With current challenges such as inflation, supply chain interruptions, and skilled construction trades shortages, you will be relieved when you have contingencies for the unexpected.

If you are partnering with another organization, do you have the same goals or vision for the project?

• For example, is their desire to have child care designated space, or are they proposing a multi-purpose space that is used for activities outside the hours of the child care?
• If intended to be a multi-purpose space, do you have agreement on responsibilities for preparing the room for the intended non-child-care activities and then reverting it back to child care?

Have you done a thorough reference check of your architect, designer, modular or construction company?

• How much experience do they have? What kind of projects have they undertaken previously?
• Do they have any completed child care projects that they can share with you?
• Have you contacted those child care operators to see if they are happy with the finished product?
• Do they have a good professional reputation with the organizations with whom they have been associated?

Checking in with the New Spaces Fund Program Manager of Partnerships of Engagement is helpful before you begin planning and before you submit an application to the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund:

Manager of Partnerships and Engagement, Child Care Capital Funding Programs, Child Care Division, Ministry of Education and Child Care

• Email: CCCF@gov.bc.ca (Attn: Manager Partnerships and Engagement)
• Office Toll Free: 1-888-338-6622 (option 5)

These links are a consolidated list of the specific legislation and guides to the practical application and regulations around child care licensing.

• Child Care Licensing Regulation
• Community Care & Assisted Living Act
• Director of Licensing Standard of Practice - Safe Play Space
• Director of Licensing Standard of Practice - Active Play
• BC Building Code

The medical health officer is named in legislation as having responsibility for licensing, inspection, and monitoring of child care facilities. Licensing officers are delegated to carry out the day-to-day duties for licensing applications, inspection, and monitoring of child care providers and facilities in each health authority:

• Interior Health
  • Interior Health - Resources for Child Care Providers
• Vancouver Coastal Health
• Island Health
  • Island Health - Resources
• Fraser Health
  • Fraser Health - Important forms and resources for child care licensees
• Northern Health

The Child Care Licensing Regulation requires children to have daily access to outdoor play spaces. These play spaces may be provided through a variety of options. For example, designated space on site, designated space located away from the facility, or an outdoor play space plan of activities may be acceptable options under the regulations.

Below, are the publicly available resources to help you start the planning process. However, you should ensure you contact your local health authority licensing office for the options and specific requirements in your community:

• Fraser Health - Outdoor Play Areas Away (PDF)
• Island Health - Children's Outdoor Playspace Plan (PDF) 
• Vancouver Coastal Health - Template for Child Care Outdoor Space & Equipment Safety Check (PDF)

It is important to remember that not all children will enjoy a large play structure, and a large structure is not required under the Child Care Licensing Regulation. Consider including other design features such as:

• shade to protect children and educators from the sun or rain by planting trees or having a gazebo in your budget and construction plans
• natural play elements
• dramatic play items
• pathways for wheeled toys and art activities
• “mountains” (a seven-foot high mound) and “rivers” (a water trough) can add interest and fun to an otherwise flat space

There are additional instructions and guidance available on the ChildCareBC rules for operating a licensed child care facility website.

This Outdoor Playspace Plan checklist might be a helpful resource to understand the requirements under the Child Care Licensing Regulation and guide your choices.

• Understand the Different Types of Child Care in B.C.
• Follow the Rules for Operating a Licensed Child Care Facility
• A Guide to Community Care Facility Licensing in BC

• Fact sheet - Outcome-based standards (PDF)
• Fact sheet - Licensee (PDF)
• Fact sheet - Licensing officer (PDF)
• Fact sheet - Obtain a child care licence (PDF)

• The Inclusive Child Care Toolkit can be a useful resource for developing an inclusion policy. It provides tools to think broadly about inclusion and can help start a conversation with staff helping ensure the creation and maintenance of an inclusive environment.
• Additional inclusive child care programs and resources
• Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Resources

• ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund Application Resource
• Minimum Requirements for Construction Estimate Preparation - Checklist (PDF)
• Design Resource for Child Care Facilities - Vancouver Coastal Health (PDF)

To help address staffing challenges, these funding supports are designed to help providers improve recruitment and retention of early childhood educators in their local communities.

Recruitment:

• WorkBC - B.C. Employer Training Grant: Employers with employees seeking an ECE Basic certificate may apply for a subsidy of 80% of eligible training costs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per participant per fiscal year
  • Employees working towards an ECE Basic certificate, an Infant-Toddler or Special Needs certificate are eligible
  • Employers reimbursement is capped at $300,000 per fiscal year (April 1 – March 31)
• WorkBC - Community Workforce Response Grant: Provides funding for the group training of local unemployed people who could fill a skill shortage in a community, including child care
  • The program includes a 10% allowance for administrative costs connected to the grant (e.g. receive $300,000 to provide the training for a class, $30,000 can be allocated for staff administering the program)
• Provincial Nominee Program: View the facilitated webinar and presentations for child care operators, ECEs and the overall child care sector on recruitment and retention opportunities through the BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) with additional presentations on Immigration Programs and Resources for Employers from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and on ECE Certification from the ECE Registry
• Early Childhood Educators of BC Education Support Fund 
  • ECE Student Bursary - up to $500 per course, to a maximum of eight courses, for a total of $4,000 per semester to assist with tuition and living expenses for individuals pursuing ECE certification
  • ECE Workforce Bursary - up to $5,000 per semester to assist ECEs, ECE assistants (ECEA), responsible adults (as defined in the Child Care Licensing Regulation) and StrongStart BC facilitators with tuition and other expenses such as loss of wages or travel
• The Columbia Basin Trust Early Child Educator Training Wage Program provides a training wage to ECEAs and certified ECEs, employed by licensed child care facilities located in the Columbia Basin, to support them to complete and/or upgrade their ECE qualifications
• The Northern Development Initiative Trust Healthy Communities Fund Capacity Building Stream can also provide support for northeastern communities with an ECE Training wage supplement to aid in expanding local pools of ECE certified individuals

Retention:

• Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement – Provides a subsidy that allows providers to enhance ECE wages by $4/hour
• Columbia Basin Trust Early Childhood Educator Wage Subsidy Program – Provides an additional subsidy of $2/hour to enhance the wages of ECEs in the Columbia Basin area
• BC Early Years Professional Development Hub  – The one-stop, online professional development hub for educators working within the B.C. early years sector

ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund

This funding is available to support the creation, expansion and relocation of child care facilities proposing to create new, licensed child care spaces.

Who is eligible:

• Public sector organizations including local governments, school districts, health authorities, Crown corporations, and public post-secondary institutions
• Indigenous governments
• Not-for-profit organizations (societies) including not-for-profit child care providers, child development centres, eligible independent school designated authorities, and Indigenous not-for-profit organizations

What does the program do: Provides eligible applicants with funding for eligible expenses for the creation, expansion and relocation of child care facilities who propose the creation of new, licensed child care spaces.

Start-Up Grants

Who is eligible: Individuals who want to operate a licensed child care facility in their personal residence.

What does the program do: Provides grants to assist individuals who want to create a licensed child care in their personal residence  with the costs of obtaining a Group Care, Family, or In-Home Multi-Age (IHMA) licence type.

Licensed child care providers can apply for access to programs to assist with ongoing operational costs of running a licensed facility, including ways to reduce the cost for families. 

For ongoing operational costs:

• Child Care Operating Funding – assists with the day-to-day costs of running a licensed child care facility. A monthly payment is calculated beginning with the base rate and multiplied by the number of children and the number of days the child care operates.

For staff wages:

• Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement – Provides a subsidy that allows providers to enhance Early Childhood Educator wages by $4/hour. 

To reduce parent fees:

• Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative – Since 2018, has allowed operators to reduce fees for eligible families by up to $350/month. As of December 2022, this program is reducing child care fees further – this time by as much as $550 more per child every month, for a total of up to $900 per child per month.
• Affordable Child Care Benefit – Through a co-application process, providers can help eligible families to access the ACCB, a monthly payment to assist with the cost of child care. 
  • Families with annual household incomes of up to $111,000 may be eligible. Factors like income, family size and composition, and type of child care will determine the specific amount delivered through the program.
  • Applications need to be renewed every year, or when family/child care circumstances change to ensure family and provider information is up to date.

Additional programs:

• $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres – Selected providers are funded to reduce parent fees down to a maximum of $200 a month, per child enrolled in full-time, regular business hours care, regardless of the care type.