Revelstoke was selected as one of 12 communities to play host to a new BC Early Years Centre starting this fall.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development made the announcement Tuesday morning. Revelstoke joins Comox Valley, Delta, Golden, Langley, Mission, 100 Mile House, Penticton, Saanich, Sooke, the Sunshine Coast and Vanderhoof as the 12 communities taking part in the program.
The centres are being set up to support families with children aged 0–6 and will offer programs such as parent drop-in programs, StrongStart, public health clinics, parent education workshops, child care and other resources and referral services.
The Revelstoke Child Care Society will be administering the program here. Each community is receiving $52,000 to put towards the program.
Tracy Spannier, Revelstoke’s early childhood development coordinator, told the Times Review in May they are planning initiatives that will improve access to the societies programs.
“What we’re looking at is increasing access to programs and services, to really supporting families around gaining access and making sure we’re looking at all the barriers families may face for accessing programs and services for young children in the community,” she said.
The new centres wills serve as pilots to develop early years centres across the province. They are the first step of the government’s Early Years Strategy.
“I am very excited about the commitment by Provincial Office for the Early Years to proceed with these 12 Early Years Centres,” said Anne Cooper, a member of the Provincial Child Care Council, in a news release. “As the former Superintendent of the Revelstoke School District, I have seen first-hand how investments in early learning support children and families, and make for a strong community.”
