The District of Central Saanich would like to support you in successfully starting and operating a child care facility within our community.
Provision of child care in B.C. is regulated through the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation. Licensed child cares are overseen through the Island Health Child Care Licensing office. If you have questions or concerns about any of the information found here, please get in touch with their office.
There are two main categories of child care that are legal to operate in B.C., with each containing several specific types of care. These are:
1. Home-based child care
Child care is provided in the provider’s home. Home-based child care includes both unlicensed and licensed child care facilities.
See here for more information on starting a home-based child care in our community.
2. Community-based child care
Child care is provided in a community facility. All community-based child care must be licensed.
See here for more information on starting a community-based child care.
$10 a day Child Care
BC is expanding the number of child care spaces that are available for families at a subsidized rate of $10 per day. Since 2018, 2,500 spaces across the province have been available at this rate and in 2021 the province committed to supporting an additional 4,000 spaces.
$10 a day care is provided through subsidy to participating licensed child care facilities. To access care at this rate, families must have a space at one of these facilities.
If you provide licensed child care and are interested in applying to have your facility participate in this program, please see $10 a day ChildCareBC Centres for more information.