Over 1,300 additional income-related childcare places will be available in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent, announced Flemish Minister of Welfare and Family Affairs, Hilde Crevits, in a press release on Friday.
These establishments allow parents to pay according to their income and fall under the highest subsidy category. According to Crevits, the extra investment means that over 80% of the places in Flanders will operate according to income rates.
"This is not only good news for parents who will thus have more access to affordable childcare, but also for the organisers and staff. For them, it means higher wages and better working conditions." says Crevits in the statement to the press.
Crevits has allocated €9.7 million for this expansion, which involves the creation of new places and the conversion of existing ones to the income-related subsidy. The investment is part of a €270 million package set aside by the Flemish government to strengthen childcare.
In Brussels, 409 new places will be created while 66 more can be converted. In Antwerp and Ghent, both cities will co-invest in the childcare expansion project. Antwerp will have 181 new places, with the ability to convert 449 existing ones. Meanwhile, Ghent will have 201 new positions.
Additional subsidies for urgent childcare will also be provided in the three cities, Crevits further announced. This entails a subsidy for group childcare to reserve places for a family who needs childcare within a month.
The allocation of the urgent care was determined by the organisation Opgroein. There will be 13 places available in Brussels, 5 in Ghent, and 145 in Antwerp.
