In an effort to shorten wait times and create more licensed child-care spaces, the Manitoba government is opening a new application intake for early learning and child-care (ELCC) community-based capital projects.
“We will support major expansion projects to increase spaces or build new centres in order to meet the high demand for quality, licensed spaces across the province,” said Scott Fielding, Manitoba’s Families Minister, in a press release. “We are excited to develop new partnerships in our communities that will work toward serving the child-care needs of Manitoba families and increasing accessibility to spaces that are realistic, practical, cost-effective and sustainable.”
The building fund provides capital funding support to projects that will build a new non-profit child-care centre or renovate an existing centre to add extra child-care spaces. Manitoba’s 2017-18 budget includes up to $2.8 million. Grant recipients will receive up to 40 per cent of capital costs to a maximum of $600,000 for projects in community-owned or leased buildings.
The Manitoba government is in the process of developing a multi-year ELCC strategy. In March, it announced an investment of nearly $6.2 million for 15 community-based capital projects that will create up to 739 licensed child-care spaces across the province. One of the projects, Building Blocks on Balmoral, recently held its grand opening. The 11,000 square foot facility received a capital grant from the ELCC community-based building fund, and will provide licensed care for up to 100 children in central Winnipeg.
“The development of this leading-edge facility was made possible through a public-private partnership between the YM/YWCA of Winnipeg, Great West Life Assurance Company and the Government of Manitoba,” said Fielding. “By leveraging each partner’s strengths, these public-private partnerships create new and innovative opportunities to increase the development of licensed early learning and child-care spaces, while decreasing wait times for families.”
At the centre’s grand opening, Fielding announced the new intake for the building fund will begin on June 1, 2017, with an application deadline of October 27.
For more information, please visit http://gov.mb.ca/fs/childcare/resources/forms_apps.html.
