Beginning March 1, Alberta child-care providers will receive 80 per cent of their monthly claim at the beginning of each month.
The province announced the move Friday morning, after child-care providers voiced concerns about the timing of their payments. It translates to about $84 million in payments to more than 2,300 child-care providers across Alberta.
“Alberta families rely on high-quality child care so they can go to work or school knowing their children are safe and thriving,” Jobs, Economy and Trade Minister Matt Jones said in a news release.
“By providing funding up front, child-care providers will be able to continue focusing on what they do best: providing high-quality child care that meets the diverse needs of Alberta families.”
Child care was placed under Jones’ portfolio in mid-February, at which time the province said it was “actively working on a new system that will streamline payment processes and ensure child-care operators receive affordability grant payments faster.”
The changes come after child-care providers in Alberta voiced concerns over the rollout of the federal government’s $10-a-day plan. One of the major concerns from providers was around delays in their reimbursements from the provincial government.
The province hopes the advance payments, in conjunction with the fees collected from parents, will help reduce the financial pressures on child-care providers.
“By expediting the provision of monthly funding, Alberta is responding to providers’ concerns so they can focus on delivering high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care to families in Alberta,” said federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds.
The advance payments will apply to child-care facilities, family day home agencies, pre-schools and out-of-school care providers, according to the province.
“The new claim advance is a welcome change to how child-care providers are paid,” said Sonia Grams, assistant director of Child Development Dayhomes. “Being paid in the first few days of the current month eliminates the stress of paying our fixed expenses before we are paid for our services.”
“It’s instant relief for the child-care sector,” said Krystal Churcher, chair of the Association for Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs. “It’s an immediate change for operators and bringing a lot of relief.
“Operators woke up yesterday and had their claims advanced in their accounts for March already.”
Last month, a number of Alberta childcare facilities held rolling closures, protesting what they said were problems with the $10-a-day child-care program.
“It brought awareness to what operators were facing,” Churcher said. “A lot of parents and the public didn’t know the state of crisis that we were in as far as funding our programs and making sure they stayed viable and open to families.
“The awareness caused the premier to step in. It caused a shift in our ministry and some immediate solutions were brought forward.”
Churcher said it’s important that the government continue to ensure the program is working for both families and child-care operators.
“We have to go back to ensuring that the systems that are rolling out in the province are actually working,” she continued. “That the $10-a-day program is meeting the intended promises, like access to child care, which it’s not right now, and that we’re actually engaging with operators to really understand the sector before we roll out these programs.”
Legislation that commits the federal government to long-term funding of the national child-care system is poised to become law, after the House of Commons approved Senate amendments to the bill late Thursday that protect services for official-language minorities.
The bill aims to enshrine the system into law, making it harder for future governments to defund it.