Child Care Centres to Expand, Subsidized Spaces Added
Families looking for child care will have more options following a $3.4-million investment to expand the province's child-care centres. As well, an additional 125 portable, subsidized spaces will be made available, Community Services Minister David Morse announced today, Aug. 16.
"Quality child care is essential for Nova Scotians who must work or go to school. Through these investments, we are helping families access high quality child care," said Mr. Morse. "There will be more subsidized spaces for low-income families and expanded numbers of child-care spaces available to Nova Scotia's families."
Twenty child-care centres are receiving additional support under the Expansion Grants and Loans program. This program was created to provide financial assistance to licensed non-profit and commercial child-care centres that expand and create new child-care spaces. Centres were eligible for up to 75 per cent of the costs of expansion or new construction.
The funding for the Child Care Expansion Grants and Loans program was provided under the March 2003 Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) from the 2004-05 fiscal year. The ELCC is a joint, federal-provincial agreement to improve and expand early childhood development programs and services.
A list of centres receiving expansion grants and loans follows this news release.
The addition of 125 subsidized spaces means there are now more than 2,880 subsidized child-care spaces in Nova Scotia and that 609 of them are portable. A family accessing a portable space can choose to use any licensed child-care centre in the province and can take the subsidized space with them should they move to a different area.
Child-care centres receiving expansion grants are:
- Dr. Jane Norman Child Study Centre, Truro
- Lower South River Preschool, St. Andrew's
- Boys & Girls Club of Yarmouth Day Care Centre, Yarmouth
- La Prematernalle de Clare, Pointe de l'Eglise
- Apple Tree Landing Children's Centre, Canning
- The Little People's Place, Shelburne
- Small World Learning Centre, Bridgewater
- Town Daycare Centre, Glace Bay
- Kinsmen Day Care Centre, Sydney Mines
- Halifax Christian Academy Preschool, Halifax
- Halifax Military Family Resource Centre Daycare, Halifax
- Maritime Muslim Academy Preschool, Halifax
- Akerley Child Care Centre, Dartmouth
- Halifax Independent Elementary School, Halifax
- Alexandra Children's Centre, Halifax
- Société La Garderie Le Petit Voilier, Dartmouth
- Point Pleasant Child Care Centre, Halifax
- St. Joseph's Early Childhood Centres, Bedford.
Child-care centres receiving expansion loans are:
- Love Your Child Infant and Children's Centre, Cambridge
- Burnside Children's Centre, Dartmouth.