West Shore families are expected to benefit from new culturally-relevant child care spaces through the Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) program.

AHS is an early-learning and child care program for Indigenous children up to age six and their families, which provides wraparound family support and inclusion services at no cost. A recently-opened AHS centre will provide 48 child care spaces in Colwood, according to the B.C. Government. 

"Aboriginal Head Start Association of British Columbia (AHSABC) is growing culturally rich spaces in a big way," said Joan Gignac, executive director of AHSABC, in a news release. "829 AHS-licenced full-day child care spaces have been created since 2018 in 23 communities across B.C. This has been life-changing for Indigenous families in B.C."

Along with Colwood, two more centres will open in Kelowna and Vancouver, for a total of 108 new spaces across the province.

AHS's curriculum encompasses six programming components, including culture and language, education and school readiness, health promotion, nutrition, social support, and parent and family involvement.

AHS funding is supported by a combination of provincial funding, the Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, and the Canada-B.C. Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.