The province has announced details of this year's allocation of the federal Early Childhood Development funds, of which $6 million is for child care. The child care funds will be flowed into the following:
Child care stabilization grant - $4.5 million
For wages and benefits of teaching staff and on-site directors in full-day non-profit and commercial child care centres.
Training - $1 million
For enhancing training opportunities and professional development. A training needs assessment and stakeholder consultation to be held this year.
Inclusion of children with special needs - $500,000
For enhancing inclusion, ie. additional supports to centres, spaces for children with special needs, or training opportunities for staff working with children with special needs. Details of this funding still to be determined.
In addition to the funds earmarked for child care, the province has also announced the Early Childhood Development Grant of $1.6 million for the development of child and family services (ie. parenting programs, family resource programs) depending on "community needs." This may or may not include child care spaces.
See availability section below for more details about these initiatives and Nova Scotia's Early Childhood Development Strategy.