Families looking for licensed child care can no longer be charged a fee to put their names on waitlists.
That’s according to the provincial government.
“Child care is expensive enough without fees adding up before families have secured child care,” said Mitzi Dean, Minister of State for Child Care.
“Eliminating waitlist fees will mean that families no longer face having to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars simply to find a child care space. We’re supporting families with the cost of child care, and now that starts when families are looking for a spot.”
Approximately 5% of providers, mostly in metropolitan areas, were charging families a fee to put their name on a waitlist.
Because most families looking for child care reach out to a number of providers, this was a significant cost.
Waitlist fees, most of which are non-refundable, ranged from $25 to $200 or more.
In addition to the more than 15,000 spaces in $10 a Day ChildCareBC program, more than 128,000 families are saving as much as $900 per month per child through the fee-reduction program.