CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – July 20, 2026 – The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) is continuing its targeted support for vulnerable working families across the island, with nearly $300,000 in cumulative childcare investments rolled out through its flagship Assisted Childcare for Toddlers and Infants on Nevis (ACTION) Plan Daycare Assistance Programme. The initiative, designed to ease financial burdens for caregivers and expand early childhood access, has already supported 67 children and 40 local households, marking a key milestone for the CCM-led administration’s social development agenda.
Honourable Senator Jahnel Nisbett, Minister of Gender Affairs and Social Development, shared an official update on the programme’s progress during a recent sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly. To date, the initiative has disbursed a total of $280,000 in direct daycare support for qualifying Nevisian families. Nisbett added that 15 children currently enrolled in the programme will age out and transition to formal preschool later this year, and reminded community members that enrolment remains open 12 months a year for eligible families with children in registered daycare facilities.
Nevis Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Mark Brantly, whose administration spearheaded the programme, noted that the initiative grew directly from community engagement. Speaking on the origins of the programme, Brantley explained that it launched after a single mother in the Hamilton community shared her struggles covering daycare costs with administration officials during a neighborhood walkthrough.
“This project came from being in the community, listening to people, and then implementing solutions to try and help people,” Brantley said. “It’s a project that we’re very, very proud of.”
To date in 2026 alone, the NIA has invested roughly $56,000 into the programme. A key structural feature of the initiative sets it apart from many other assistance schemes: funds are disbursed directly to licensed daycare centres rather than to families, creating a dual benefit that stabilizes local childcare providers while eliminating out-of-pocket costs for qualifying caregivers.
Under the programme’s eligibility guidelines, single-parent households earning $2,000 or less per month and dual-income households earning $3,000 or less per month qualify for support. Eligible households can receive up to $300 per month for up to two children, covering kids from birth through age three. Currently, close to 40 households across Nevis are actively receiving assistance through the scheme.
Brantley emphasized that investing in early childhood daycare is an investment in Nevis’ long-term social fabric, framing the programme’s core mission as “Supporting Working Families and Strengthening Futures.”
“We recognize that a lot of our children get their primary foundation in daycare, so we need to be strong at the roots if we want them to grow up and be strong trees and become pillars in the society,” he said. “That programme is certainly still going… a programme that I believe has been assisting people in a meaningful way.”
The Premier encouraged all qualifying parents to take advantage of the open enrolment policy to give their children a strong early start. Caregivers interested in applying can contact the Department of Gender Affairs at 469-5521, extension 6750, or visit the department’s office at the GMBC Building on Government Road for in-person assistance.