Taipei subsidy for children in private daycare to be raised by NT$3,000

Taipei, March 31 (CNA) The Taipei City government's monthly subsidy for government-contracted daycare will rise by NT$3,000 (US$250) starting in July, a move expected to benefit 8,000 children under the age of 3, city officials said Tuesday.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Tuesday announced a set of childcare measures, headlined by a NT$3,000 increase in the city's monthly daycare subsidy.

The subsidy is available for children under the age of 3 enrolled in private daycare or for home-based care provided by operators who have signed contracts with the city to offer quasi-public services, according to the Department of Social Welfare.

Those private daycare facilities are subject to a monthly fee cap of NT$23,500 set by the city government, while the limit for registered home-based daytime caregivers is NT$20,000, according to the department.

With the existing NT$13,000 monthly subsidy for the first child from the central government and the upcoming increase to NT$8,000 from Taipei City, families with children in contracted private daycare will pay a maximum of NT$2,500 per month, the department said in a press release.

Currently, the central government provides a monthly daycare subsidy of NT$14,000 for a second child and NT$15,000 for a third child or more. With the upcoming NT$3,000 increase, the city government subsidy for a second child and above will reach NT$10,000, effectively making childcare free for parents.

Meanwhile, with the planned expansion of the city's drop-in childcare network from 24 to 45 sites this September, Chiang said that families with infants aged 6 months to 1 year will be eligible for eight hours of free service, a benefit valued at NT$1,600.