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Regional child care plan to access and target new space creation

Successful grant application allows work to begin happening
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The Cowichan Valley Regional District will be studying the state of child care in the region with a $125,000 grant from the Union of BC Municipalities.

The CVRD applied to UBCM’s Community Child Care Planning Program on behalf of the region, including member municipalities of Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan and North Cowichan. With the successful grant application, work can begin to collect relevant data, engage with communities to identify current gaps, complete an inventory of existing child care, and develop a community child care plan for the entire Cowichan region.

“We already know that affordable, quality, accessible child care is good for kids, families, employees and employers, and our local economy overall,” said Ian Morrison, CVRD chair. “We will be looking to our community to help identify what the needs are and will be, so that Cowichan-specific solutions can be developed and ultimately delivered.”

The consolidated application among the five local governments was able to leverage the maximum grant funding of $25,000 available for each organization through the Community Child Care Planning Program. This summer the CVRD will issue a request for proposals to seek a qualified consultant to begin the data collection and inventory building process.

Included in the project will be identifying barriers to child care and new space creation targets for the next 10 years, with corresponding action plans to meet those targets.