BC ChildCareBC Operator Funding Calculator (2026-27)
A companion calculator for British Columbia CCOF/CCFRI operators, not a replacement for the ministry's own funding process. Unlike Ontario's annual Cost-Based Funding Allocation, BC pays operator funding monthly: CCOF base funding, CCFRI provider payment and CCFRI parent fee reduction payment are all published as monthly (or per-day-converted-to-monthly) rates, and the ECE Wage Enhancement is paid per hour worked in that month. Enter your facility type and enrolment below to see each stream's monthly amount, with the math shown and cited to the 2026-27 (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027) guideline sources.
Based on the 2026-27 (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027) ChildCareBC funding guidelines, sources verified 2026-07-18. Estimates only — not a determination of funding.
Worked example: monthly ChildCareBC operator funding
Example inputs: a group facility with 10 infant/toddler children in full-time care (more than 4 hours/day, the ministry's 20-day-month basis, no parent fee entered), plus one ECE Wage Enhancement-eligible employee (non-public sector) working 195 hours that month.
| Line | Amount | Math |
|---|---|---|
| CCOF base funding (monthly) | $2,400.00 | Per-enrolment daily rate × service days × children. infant toddler × 10: $12/day × 20 days × 10 = $2400. Total $2400/month. docs/operator-funding/sources/bc/ccof-base-funding-rates.md#Rates |
| CCFRI provider payment (monthly) | $960.00 | Per full-time space monthly rate × children. infant toddler × 10: $96/mo × 10 = $960. Total $960/month. docs/operator-funding/sources/bc/ccfri-provider-payment-rates.md#Rates |
| CCFRI parent fee reduction payment (monthly) Un-floored Table 1 maximum — no parent fee entered for this example. Your actual reduction can never exceed what brings the parent fee down to the $200.00/month floor, so operators whose parent fee is already lower will receive less than this figure. | $9,000.00 | Table 1 maximum (or fee − floor, whichever is lower) × children. infant toddler × 10: $900 (max) × 10 = $9000. Total $9000/month. docs/operator-funding/sources/bc/ccfri-funding-guidelines-2026-27.md#3 Table 1 |
| ECE Wage Enhancement (monthly, wage portion) | $1,170.00 | $6/hour × 195 eligible hours (capped at 195h/employee) = $1170/month. Statutory benefits and EHT are paid on top and not included here. docs/operator-funding/sources/bc/ece-wage-enhancement-2026-27.md#2.2.2 |
| Total monthly funding | $13,530.00 | Sum of the lines above. This is the headline figure — BC pays monthly. |
| Projected annual total (secondary) | $162,360.00 | Total monthly funding × 12. A projection only, not a separate calculation. |
NoteFee reduction for infant toddler assumes the full $900 maximum; enter your monthly parent fee to apply the $200/month out-of-pocket floor, which may reduce it.
Out of scopeAs of April 1, 2026, CCFRI facilities must offer at least 9.5 hours of care per day before charging optional fees for extra hours.
NoteThis is an estimate based on the ministry's 20-day-month basis. Your actual monthly funding is set by your monthly enrolment report and ministry approval. Only the ministry can determine your funding.
How the CCFRI parent fee reduction floor works
The CCFRI parent fee reduction payment is capped by the Table 1 maximum for the care category, AND by a floor — out-of-pocket parent fees can never be reduced below $200.00/month for full-time care ($10.00/day), or $140.00/month ($7.00/day) for care of four hours or less per day (including preschool). Example: a group-facility "3 years to Kindergarten" child with a $700.00/month parent fee.
| Line | Amount | Math |
|---|---|---|
| CCOF base funding (monthly) | $109.60 | Per-enrolment daily rate × service days × children. age3 to k × 1: $5.48/day × 20 days × 1 = $109.6. Total $109.6/month. |
| CCFRI provider payment (monthly) | $52.60 | Per full-time space monthly rate × children. age3 to k × 1: $52.6/mo × 1 = $52.6. Total $52.6/month. |
| CCFRI parent fee reduction payment (monthly) | $500.00 | Table 1 maximum (or fee − floor, whichever is lower) × children. age3 to k × 1: $500 × 1 = $500. Total $500/month. |
| Total monthly funding for this child | $662.20 | Sum of the lines above. |
Over the regulated capFee reduction for age3 to k is limited to $500 (not the $545 maximum) so out-of-pocket fees stay at or above the $200/month floor.
Out of scopeAs of April 1, 2026, CCFRI facilities must offer at least 9.5 hours of care per day before charging optional fees for extra hours.
NoteThis is an estimate based on the ministry's 20-day-month basis. Your actual monthly funding is set by your monthly enrolment report and ministry approval. Only the ministry can determine your funding.
Two rules worth knowing before you rely on this
Kindergarten (before/after school) has no CCOF base-funding line
The CCOF base-funding rates page publishes four rate categories (Under 36 months, 3 years to Kindergarten, Grade 1 to 12 years, Preschool). It does not publish a separate base-funding rate for the Kindergarten before/after-school category that the CCFRI provider payment and CCFRI fee reduction tables use. This estimator therefore contributes $0 CCOF base funding for children you enter under 'kindergarten' and flags it. Your actual base funding is set by your monthly enrolment report.
Starting April 1, 2026: a 9.5-hour minimum before optional fees
As of April 1, 2026, child care providers in the fee reduction program may only charge optional fees for extended hours after offering a minimum of 9.5 hours of service in a day. Source: docs/operator-funding/sources/bc/ccfri-funding-guidelines-2026-27.md#4.6.
What this tool doesn't do
We only model what's publicly documented and verifiable against the sources below. Here's what isn't, and why — read this before you rely on any number this tool shows you.
CCOF base funding for the Kindergarten (before/after school) category
The CCOF base-funding rates page publishes four rate categories (Under 36 months, 3 years to Kindergarten, Grade 1 to 12 years, Preschool). It does not publish a separate base-funding rate for the Kindergarten before/after-school category that the CCFRI provider payment and CCFRI fee reduction tables use. This estimator therefore contributes $0 CCOF base funding for children you enter under 'kindergarten' and flags it. Your actual base funding is set by your monthly enrolment report.
ECE-WE statutory benefits gross-up and Employer Health Tax reimbursement
On top of the $6.00/$4.00 per-hour wage enhancement, the ministry pays additional funding to offset statutory benefits and workers' compensation premiums, and reimburses eligible Employer Health Tax increases. That amount is a percentage table adjusted every January 1 and published on the ECE-WE website, not a fixed number in the guideline, so this estimator does not add it. Your ECE-WE line here is the wage-enhancement portion only; expect additional benefits/EHT funding on top.
Part-time / fewer-than-5-day pro-ration
CCFRI provider payments and fee reductions are 'per full-time enrolled space' and are 'pro-rated for children enrolled for four hours or less per day (except preschool) and adjusted for fewer than five days per week.' The exact pro-ration factors for the provider-payment and fee-reduction streams are not published as a table, so this estimator computes full-time amounts (five days/week, over four hours) unless you mark a care line as four-hours-or-less, and notes where pro-ration would apply.
Affordability benchmarks and fee-increase limits for In-Home Multi-Age facilities
The affordability benchmark and fee-increase-limit tables are published for Group Child Care and Family Child Care only. For an In-Home Multi-Age facility, this estimator applies the Family tables (an In-Home Multi-Age licence is a residence-based licence for eight or fewer children) and flags the assumption. Confirm your assessed category with the ministry.
$10 a Day ChildCareBC operating funding
The $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centre program is a different operating-funding model (facilities receive funding to cap parent fees at $10/day) and is not the CCOF/CCFRI stream this estimator models. If you are transitioning from $10 a Day to the CCFRI, additional parent-fee and service-continuity conditions apply (Section 4.3) — see the funding guidelines.
Ministry approval outcomes and discretionary decisions
Fee-increase limits, affordability benchmarks and closure rules are caps and criteria the ministry applies at its sole discretion; approval is never automatic for new/modified facilities and exceptional increases are case-by-case. This estimator shows the published limits and funding rates; it does not predict an approval decision. Administrative fees, drop-in/waitlist rules and closure-period fee eligibility are policy determinations, not funding computations.
Common questions
How does ChildCareBC operator funding work, and is it paid monthly or annually?
ChildCareBC pays four operator funding streams monthly, not annually: CCOF base funding, CCFRI provider payment, CCFRI parent fee reduction payment, and (for eligible ECE staff) the ECE Wage Enhancement. In the worked example below — a group facility with 10 infant/toddler children and one ECE Wage Enhancement-eligible staff member working 195 hours that month — those streams total $13,530.00 per month. The $162,360.00-per-year figure shown alongside it is only that monthly figure × 12, a projection, not a separate funding calculation — the real cash flow event is the monthly amount.
Why does this calculator show $0 CCOF base funding for children entered under 'Kindergarten'?
The CCOF base-funding rates page publishes four rate categories (Under 36 months, 3 years to Kindergarten, Grade 1 to 12 years, Preschool). It does not publish a separate base-funding rate for the Kindergarten before/after-school category that the CCFRI provider payment and CCFRI fee reduction tables use. This estimator therefore contributes $0 CCOF base funding for children you enter under 'kindergarten' and flags it. Your actual base funding is set by your monthly enrolment report.
How does the CCFRI parent fee reduction floor work?
Table 1 sets a maximum monthly fee-reduction payment per care category, but the reduction can never push a family's out-of-pocket monthly fee below the published floor ($200.00/month for full-time care, $140.00/month for care of four hours or less per day). In the illustration below — a group-facility "3 years to Kindergarten" child with a $700.00/month parent fee — the Table 1 maximum would otherwise reduce the family's fee below that floor, so the fee reduction payment is limited to $500.00 instead of the full table maximum.
Does this tool guarantee my funding amount?
No. This tool estimates the four ChildCareBC funding streams from the enrolment and hours you enter — it does not determine anything about your facility's status or file. Only the ministry, through CCOF and CCFRI, sets your actual monthly funding based on your monthly enrolment report and its own records. Confirm every figure with CCOF/CCFRI and your accountant before relying on it.
What does the ECE Wage Enhancement line cover, and what's missing from it?
The ECE Wage Enhancement line here is the wage-enhancement portion only — $1170 in the worked example, from $6.00/hour × 195 eligible hours for one non-public-sector ECE employee, capped at 195 hours per employee per month. On top of the $6.00/$4.00 per-hour wage enhancement, the ministry pays additional funding to offset statutory benefits and workers' compensation premiums, and reimburses eligible Employer Health Tax increases. That amount is a percentage table adjusted every January 1 and published on the ECE-WE website, not a fixed number in the guideline, so this estimator does not add it. Your ECE-WE line here is the wage-enhancement portion only; expect additional benefits/EHT funding on top.
What does this tool not model?
6 areas, listed in full below — most importantly the missing Kindergarten-category base-funding rate, statutory-benefits/EHT top-ups on the ECE Wage Enhancement, and part-time/fewer-than-five-day pro-ration factors, none of which the ministry has published as tables this estimator could compute from.
Official sources
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/child-care/childcarebc-programs/ccfri/ccfri_funding_guidelines_26_27.pdf
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children/childcarebc-programs/child-care-operating-funding/base-funding
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children/childcarebc-programs/child-care-fee-reduction-initiative-provider-opt-in-status/information-for-providers
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/child-care/childcarebc-programs/ecewe/ece-we_funding_guidelines_26_27.pdf
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children/childcarebc-programs/child-care-operating-funding
Calculate your own numbers
Enter your facility type, enrolment and ECE hours for a personalized estimate. Nothing is saved unless you choose to email yourself a copy.
Estimates only. Your actual funding is determined by the ministry, through CCOF and CCFRI, based on your monthly enrolment report. MapleCub is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Government of British Columbia, CCOF, or CCFRI. This is not financial, accounting, or legal advice — confirm figures with CCOF/CCFRI and your accountant. Based on the 2026-27 (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027) ChildCareBC funding guidelines, sources verified 2026-07-18.