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Centre for Family Equity Releases Letter to Political Parties in B.C. Regarding UBC Partnered Research on $10-a-day Child Care and Family Poverty

October 09, 2024

Media Release 

For immediate release  

Centre for Family Equity Releases Letter to Political Parties and Statement on Importance of Continued Government Investment to Expand Publicly Funded $ 10-a-Day Universal Child Care System to Tackle Child, Youth and Family Poverty in B.C.

(Vancouver, B.C.) Unceded Coast Salish Territory. Today, the Centre for Family Equity is releasing letters to all political parties in the B.C. 2024 election on the importance of publicly funded universal, $10-a-day child care in reducing high levels of lone-mother and family poverty in B.C. and promoting family well-being.

“Our research with UBC has found that the $10-a-Day ChildCareBC model offering universal, public, and fully subsidized child care spaces is a very successful approach to ensuring low-income lone mother families thrive and access quality, family-supporting work,” stated Viveca Ellis, Executive Director, Centre for Family Equity. “The $10-a-Day model works, and the impact extends beyond labour market participation to encompass benefits to health, well-being, and social inclusion.”

Our data reveals the remarkable success of $10-a-day child care for struggling families in B.C. Resulting recommendations include a renewed government commitment to ongoing investment in the existing public $10-a-Day system with adequate spaces across the province to ensure no parents are left behind. Child care access in BC should be defined by fairness, transparency, and equity to truly level the playing field and ensure all families in B.C. can thrive. 

The Centre for Family Equity’s research, partnered with UBC, was a qualitative research study engaging thirty low-income lone mothers across the province with both mothers accessing $10-a-Day child care and the Affordable Child Care Benefit and those who were not. Data uncovered that lone mothers not accessing fully publicly funded child care spaces who had to pay out of pocket to cover fees did not fare as well. Data revealed they struggled with burdensome fees and continued to experience barriers to accessing work, health care and family well-being when lacking access to fully subsidized $10-a-day spaces. In some cases, access to publicly funded no-fee child care enabled parents to move off income assistance and access the labour market to attain quality, full-time employment. Our data has revealed that access to $10-a-Day ChildCareBC centres and the full Affordable Child Care Benefit has far-reaching and positive benefits on the lives of vulnerable families in our community.

Our evidence-based recommendations to strengthen and enhance a program that successfully supports families trying to access the labour market and thrive include:  

  • Transition all interested existing programs to $10-a-day sites to create up to 50,000 fully publicly funded spaces immediately and create a cohesive child care system.  
  • Prioritize the establishment of new $10-a-Day ChildCareBC centres in B.C.’s child care ‘deserts’.  
  • Implement an Early Childhood Educator wage grid in B.C. of at least $30–$40 per hour, depending on qualifications, experience, and years of employment. 
  • Establish public delivery of before- and after-school care throughout the province using the public school system to address the province-wide shortage of school-age childcare spaces.
  • Ensure $10-a-day child care accommodates shift work and the diverse labour market needs of parents and caregivers.
  • Expand the capacity of $10-a-Day ChildCareBC centres to provide quality, accessible care for special needs children.
  • Ensure parents in the care of the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions have access to fully subsidized $10-a-day spaces to support their family socioeconomic well-being and positive outcomes.
  • Establish a ChildCareBC Parent Advisory Council comprised of a diversity of parents and caregivers, including those with lived/living experience of low income, to provide ongoing input into the development of the $10-a-day child care system.

Access a PDF of this press release here. Please see our backgrounder for additional information. Read our report A Whole Life: The Impact of $10-a-Day Child Care on the Health and Socioeconomic Well-being of Low-Income Lone Mothers in B.C. here.

A link to a representative sample of the letter sent to the BC Green Party, BC NDP, and the Conservative Party of BC this morning can be read here.

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Media contact: Viveca Ellis, 604-366-1008 or [email protected]  

Authorized by the Centre for Family Equity, registered sponsor under the Election Act, [email protected].