Vancouver family loses Affordable Child Care Benefit due to maternity leave

A Vancouver family is calling for the province to change its approach to the Affordable Child Care Benefit, after they found out they were no longer eligible because the mother went on parental leave.

Lena Shillington and Ryan Sudds have two daughters. With the youngest of the two just five weeks old, Shillington is now on maternity leave, meaning her income is set to be “significantly” reduced.

The couple’s three-year-old, Grace, has been in daycare, with the cost largely covered by the provincial benefit. However, now that the family is no longer eligible, they are now on the hook for about $500 a month they didn’t budget for.

“It sucks. We’ve budgeted expecting to have this benefit, and now we don’t. It just means that we’re going to go more into debt. It just means we’re unprepared. I don’t know whether it was announced somewhere or where this information came about. We didn’t know and our daycare provider didn’t know this was the case,” said Sudds.

“It doesn’t seem that it’s information that’s out there. Even if the information was out there, it’s still not very good, it still makes our lives a lot harder right now.”

The mother of two says she found out the family would no longer qualify for the benefit through a phone call, which caught her by surprise.

“When I learned that we would no longer be getting the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which is like several hundred dollars a month — it’s still not the $10 a day that they’ve told us — but it was shocking, and I cried. I cried and then I got mad,” Shillington explained.

According to the B.C. government, the Affordable Child Care Benefit is administered monthly to eligible families. The payments are supposed to help families with child-care costs.

“Factors like income, family size, and type of care determine how much support families can get. Families need to renew their application every year,” the province’s website reads.

The website makes no specific mention of maternity leave affecting eligibility. Under the “reason for child care” section online, the province says parents must provide one of the listed reasons for requiring child care:

• Working or self-employed
• Attending school
• Participating in an employment program
• Looking for work (only one parent or guardian)
• Living with a medical condition that interferes with your ability to care for your child
• Your child is attending licensed preschool
• You have been referred by a Ministry of Children and Family Development or Delegated Aboriginal Agency social worker

However, the province tells CityNews the benefit is not available in cases of parental leave, unless the parent has a medical reason that affects their ability to care for their children.

“I was told that it’s because, now that I’m not working, that it’s expected that I can take full-time care of both kids. But I am working, this is work, I’m working my butt off right now taking care of a new baby,” Shillington said.

She adds Grace also “likes daycare and wants to keep her routine.”

“I couldn’t imagine coming home from the hospital and like, on day one, having a new baby and a kid home from daycare that’s used to going to daycare,” the mother continued.

Sudds and Shillington expect they’ll have to take on about $6,000 in debt in order to keep Grace in daycare throughout the maternity leave.

Shillington admits the monthly cost is adding financial hardship during what she says is “a really precarious time,” noting the cost-of-living crisis.

“The BC NDP disappoints me in so many ways everyday and this is just another example of it,” said Sudds, who notes both he and his wife have previously worked for the party.

“It was helpful to get the benefit but when they talk about helping families, help families. And the problem is, it’s just politics, which means it’s more about winning elections than actually getting kids into daycare.”

“It feels like it’s been a cost-saving measure on their side and not thinking about us,” added Shillington.

The couple hopes their situation serves as a cautionary tale to other families, and brings about changes to help British Columbians in times of need.

“This is hard work, being a parent to a new baby. I would like them to recognize that and make sure the options are there for daycares and other caregiving options for families,” said Shillington.

“The government’s been telling us: there are benefits for kids to being in daycare and now because Lena is on mat leave, our child doesn’t get access to those benefits? So, there’s a choice there. I find that very insulting,” said Sudds.