Sabrina Nesbit from Caspian Care Centre plays with toddlers at the daycare Friday. Herald photo by David Rossiter

Katie May
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Changes to provincial child-care subsidies may mean more Albertans can afford day care for their children.
As of April 1, the family income required to qualify for the province's maximum child-care subsidy will increase to $50,000 from $35,100, the provincial government announced Friday.
Nearly 5,000 more Alberta families are expected to be approved for the subsidy as a result of the higher income threshold, announced as part of this year's budget. The Alberta government plans to spend a total of $264 million on child care this year, an 8.4 per cent increase since last year, according to the department of Human Services.
The change not only means more access to daycare for lower- and middle-income local families, but it could also mean more families will be able to afford to put their children in the care of an accredited centre, according to a Lethbridge daycare owner.
Jillaine Leclaire, owner of Caspian Childcare, has been in the daycare business for 30 years. She said subsidy eligibility changes are a good start to improving child-care access in the region.
"That is the group of parents who are financially hit the hardest," she said. "The subsidy doesn't ask you all of your expenses. They just want to know what your wage is and how many children in daycare - that's where that really hurts that group because they don't have that extra amount of money. It all goes to daycare."
Accredited daycare centres may see an influx in families who can now afford the extra costs of official accreditation
"Lots of times you see parents who are struggling and they have to choose child care that is maybe not accredited," she said. "Everybody deserves to be in a good centre."
"I think they'll have the opportunity, because there's enough spaces out there, to pick an accredited daycare rather than not having that choice because of finances."
There's more the government could do to improve child-care access in Alberta, Leclaire said, including opening more daycare spaces and working on staffing levels, but "we've got to start somewhere."
"It's a great step forward."