One-time payment childcare available

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The provincial government has established a new one-time benefit for parents for daycare costs during the pandemic. 

The Working Parents Benefit, announced during a government news conference on Feb. 24, will provide a one-time payment of $561 to parents in the province. To be eligible, parents must make less than $100,000, have children in childcare, and have paid three months of childcare between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. Examples of eligible childcare include licensed or unlicensed daycare, day homes, out-of-school care, or preschool.

This new support will help families invest in childcare and preschool, but will also create economic stimulus, said Rebecca Schultz, the province’s minister of children’s services.

The program is being funded with $108 million of unspent funds from Children’s Services to support the families of up to 192,000 children, according to the government.

Applications for the benefit are made online, the date of opening varying regionally to manage volume, between March 1 to March 5. Applications will be open until March 31. A MyAlberta Digital ID is required to apply for the benefit.