New Child-care Facility for Glace Bay

Glace Bay families will have greater access to child care when a newly improved Town Daycare Centre opens this fall. The child-care centre is expanding with financial assistance from the provincial government.

The not-for-profit child-care centre will grow by nine spaces when the new facility opens this fall, next to the existing centre. Town Daycare will be licensed to care for 94 children between the ages of 18 months and 12 years in the new centre.

Community Services Minister Judy Streatch delivered an expansion grant worth more than $700,000 to Town Daycare today, Aug. 9.

Town Daycare and the community raised $239,000 to build the new, 10,000 square foot facility on West Avenue in Glace Bay.

"Parents who work or go to school rely on day-care centres like Town Daycare," said Ms. Streatch. "Our funding will help Town Daycare build a modern, top quality facility where families can be confident their children will be well-looked after each day.

"With investments like this expansion grant, we are helping Nova Scotia families, children and child-care professionals," she added.

"This is an exciting opportunity for local families and I would like to thank the Nova Scotia government and, in particular, the Department of Community Services for their sponsorship and commitment to early learning and child care," said Margaret Burke, executive director of Town Daycare Centre. "This new facility will provide a modern building that will be easily accessible for all children, including those with special needs."

The child-care centre expansion funding was available to licensed, non-profit and commercial child-care centres to expand existing facilities or to help with the cost of constructing a new child-care space. Non-profit child-care centres were eligible for up to 75 per cent of the costs of expansion or new construction. The child-care centre was responsible for funding the remaining 25 per cent through in-kind services and/or financial contributions.

The funding was provided under the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care 2003, a joint agreement by the provincial and federal governments to improve and expand early childhood development programs and services.