Province to give parents a one-time payment
One-time payment of $561 per child to aid middle- and low-income homes
Tens of thousands of Alberta parents will receive a one-time, $561-per-child payment to help cover the cost of daycare during a time of pandemic uncertainty, the UCP government has announced.
The $108-million cost of the Working Parents Benefit is money unspent due to the COVID-19 pandemic reducing the use of child care spaces, said Children's Services Minister Rebecca Schulz.
“This is for parents balancing working and paying for a child, who may have felt the stress of the economy and the pandemic,” said Schulz.
“This will make a huge difference for families — they can reinvest it into the child care of their choice or back into the economy.”
The payment will benefit up to 192,000 children across the province among eligible families with an annual household income of $100,000 or less.
“This is really targeting the low or middle-income families … this goes a long way to supporting those working parents,” said Schulz.
The average monthly cost for full-time licensed daycare in the province is around $900, she added.
The UCP government last summer ended funding of a $25-a-day child care pilot that supported 22 daycare centres begun by their NDP predecessors, which was meant to be the first phase in a universal support program.
Schulz said that initiative would have ultimately cost taxpayers $1 billion a year even as many parents balked at putting their children in full-time, licensed daycare.
“Six out of seven parents aren't choosing licensed care, so we have to respect choices,” she said.
Last summer, the province announced it would be receiving $45 million in federal funding invested in lower-income child care spaces.
That's on top of $20 million directed
toward child care subsidies in the province's last budget.
In May, the province announced that child care centres and approved family day home agencies would receive up to $17.8 million in support to reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While much of the province's child care capacity was shut down last year due to the pandemic, 97 per cent of the preschool, out-ofschool care and daycares are open, though the number of spaces has
been reduced, said Schulz.
“We do know low enrolment is definitely a challenge for those centres,” she said.
While she said critical-care worker benefits and business grants have helped the sector, “we're going to have to be creative in addressing the challenges.”
Some parts of the province suffer a death of daycare amenities she likened to “child care deserts.”
Stable and affordable child care, she said, “is a part of our economic
recovery plan.”
Those eligible for the Working Parents Benefit must have paid for three months of child care between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, and be able to produce receipts.
They can apply for the benefit between March 1 and March 5, with cheques flowing soon after that.
A Myalberta Digital ID is needed to apply for the benefit.