Child care costs are a factor in deciding on a child care facility for many families.
There are lots of reasons why child care can be so expensive. Some of the reasons include high ratios of adults to children, professional qualifications, location of care, and overhead costs such as the costs of space, insurance, equipment and special programs. Quality care for infants and toddlers can be especially expensive due to small group sizes.
For more information regarding “typical” child care rates for your area, please see our most recent rate survey.
Affordable Child Care Benefit
The Affordable Child Care Benefit 🗗 is a monthly payment to help eligible families with the cost of child care. Factors like income, family size, and type of care determine how much support families can get. Families need to renew their application every year. The Affordable Child Care Benefit replaces the Child Care Subsidy on the basis of amendments 🗗 made to the Child Care Subsidy Regulation 🗗 (now the Early Learning and Child Care Act 🗗, effective September 1, 2024).
Parents may be eligible if they are a…
- Resident of B.C. (you must have a current B.C. address).
- Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection.
2024 Childcare Fees & Wages Survey – Chilliwack
*CCFRI – Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative. Funding provided to Childcare operators to reduce fees.
Licensed Family: 22/33 programs reporting.
Multi-age in Home/Group and Multi-age (out of home): 23/77 centers reporting
Additional eligibility requirements
Most types of child care 🗗 are eligible. Funding is not available for child care by live-in family members or licensed facilities providing occasional child care.
Parents must provide one of the following reasons for requiring child care:
- Working or self-employed
- Attending school
- Participating in an employment program
- Looking for work (only one parent/guardian)
- Living with a medical condition that interferes with your ability to care for your child
- Your child is attending licensed preschool
- You have been referred by a Ministry of Children and Family Development or Delegated Aboriginal Agency social worker.
A formula is used to calculate whether a family qualifies for a funding amount based on their annual income and deductions, or adjustments. This step is called income testing.
Generally speaking, families that earn up to $111,000 may qualify for funding. Families that earn more than $111,000 but have considerable deductions for family size or children who have special needs, can also apply.
Families may be exempt from income testing if they are caring for someone else’s child under a Ministry of Children and Family Development placement.
Apply for funding before the end of the month in which you need child care. For example, if you would like to receive funding for child care starting September 1, you need to apply by September 30.
For additional information on the Affordable Child Care Benefit, contact the Child Care Service Centre toll-free at 1-888-338-6622, 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday.
