About BES(t) 4 kids

Financial accessibility

Daycare and out-of-school care must be accessible to children, also financially. Waiting lists should be minimized and childcare should be affordable to all parents. Childcare organizations receive financial support when they meet the requirements as stipulated in the laws and (local) regulations.

Currently, a temporary childcare subsidy scheme is in place aimed at improving the quality of childcare and reducing the costs for parents. The Childcare Law for the Caribbean Netherlands provides for the structural financing of childcare. The objective is to ensure that there is proper and affordable daycare or out-of-school care for children aged between 0 and 12 in 2022.

Temporary subsidy scheme
Childcare organizations in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba which hold an operating license under the Childcare Island Ordinance can qualify for a cost-price reducing subsidy. The organizations can use this subsidy to reduce the parental contribution for parents and to take measures to improve the quality of childcare.

Childcare organizations can submit a subsidy application to Implementation and Policy (in Dutch: Uitvoering van Beleid (UVB)). They are supported in this process by the front office which has been established at the Public Entity for this purpose

Parental contribution
The BES(t) 4 kids program wishes to ensure that parents can bring their children to childcare without having to worry about the finances. The amount of parental contribution has been determined for childcare organizations which receive subsidy: they may charge a parental contribution between a certain minimum and maximum amount. Parents with a low income, can apply for a supplementary childcare place subsidy at the Public Entity.

The intention is that parents of children aged between 0 and 12 will pay a fixed parental after the law comes in to effect. The Public Entities will furthermore determine whether they will make childcare free of charge for parents living in poverty.

More information
Click here for the temporary subsidy scheme:

The amounts of the temporary subsidy scheme and the related parental contributions are available on the pages dedicated to the individual islands:

Future childcare compensation

The BES Childcare proposal for a new law states that the central government will pay a large part of the costs of childcare. In the end, parents will have to pay only a small part of all the costs. The exact amounts are still to be determined. This required a study into the exact costs of childcare in cases where a childcare facility meets all the requirements of good quality. This study, in which more than three quarters of all the childcare organisations in the Caribbean Netherlands participated, has now been completed. Based on the study, the Ministry of SZW, in collaboration with the public entities, will present a proposal for the system and the level of the childcare compensation. This proposal will be discussed with childcare organizations and parents during consultation sessions on the three islands. The proposal will subsequently be submitted to the Minister for a decision.

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