Child care service providers

In August, 2024, the Ontario Ministry of Education introduced a new CWELCC Cost-Based Funding Approach. This approach will take effect January 1, 2025.  

The Ministry created this new funding approach to provide funds to CWELCC-enrolled licensed child care service providers. The allocation of funds is based on eligible and typical costs of providing high-quality child care within a calendar year. Starting on January 1, 2025, base fees for children ages 0 to 5 in CWELCC-enrolled programs will be capped at $22 per day. 

Funding allocation  

Starting in 2025, the City will no longer calculate eligible service providers’ funding allocation using the revenue replacement model. The City will combine routine funding into the new cost-based funding model for eligible service providers. To qualify, service providers must be enrolled in CWELLCC and serve/offer care for children ages 0 to 5. Child care programs for children ages 6 to 12, must be CWELCC-enrolled or only serve that age group to receive funding. This funding includes: 

• General Operating (GO) 
• Wage Enhancement Grant (WEG), and   
• Fee subsidy funding 

A service provider’s cost-based funding allocation will be calculated using:  

• Program Cost Allocation (including benchmark and top-up allocations),   
• Allocation in Lieu of Profit/Surplus, and  
• Expected Base Fee Revenue Offset 

More information is available in the Cost-Based Funding Guidelines.  

Eligible licensed child care providers will receive funding to address:   

• Their typical costs, based on their geographical region  
• Any changes needed because of the new funding model   
• Approved growth or expansion within the CWELCC System   
• The costs related to the risk of running a business or to reinvest in their child care programs 

The City asked licensed CWELCC-enrolled service providers to submit financial documents. These documents will help calculate their preliminary cost-based funding amounts. In the coming weeks, service providers will receive adjustment letters and preliminary funding amounts. 

Eligible costs  

Eligible licensed service providers can use the funds on eligible costs, up to the total allocated amount for their program. However, they will need to reconcile any funding provided with their actual eligible costs for each site every year. This could result in the City recovering overpayments. 

The Ministry has provided the following principles to determine what is an eligible cost:  

• Attributable to the provision of child care included in the base fee for eligible children;  
• Appropriate for the provision of child care for eligible children; and,  
• Reasonable in quality and amount incurred, having regard to all the relevant circumstances.  

Service providers must spend their funding on eligible costs within the calendar year that the City allocated the funding. 

Inflation and Cost Increases 

To account for the increase in costs related to providing child care in 2025, the Ministry  has predicted an inflationary increase of 4.65 per cent. The City will include this increase in a service provider’s benchmark funding calculation. 

Fee subsidy  

The City will continue to process and issue fee subsidy payments for eligible service providers by using the Record of Attendance process in the Ontario Child Care Management System (OCCMS). Starting January 1, 2025, the City will adjust fee subsidy rates to $22 per day. If a fee subsidy rate is lower than $22, it will stay the same. 

Programs that only provide care for children ages 6 to 12 will continue to get fee subsidy funding. For programs that do not participate in CWELCC, funding for existing fee subsidy placements for children ages 0 to 5 will continue until the child leaves the program. Fee subsidy funding will not be available after the child leaves the program. 

Workforce  

CWELCC Workforce Compensation Funding 

Service providers will be responsible for managing their cost-based funding allocation for salaries and benefits based on their program needs. They must ensure that money spent is an eligible cost as outlined in the Cost-Based Funding Guidelines. 

Wage Enhancement Grant and Home Child Care Enhancement Grant 

In 2025, the new guidelines will require service providers to pay staff Wage Enhancement Grant/Home Child Care Enhancement Grant. This money must come from their cost-based funding allocation. The March 2024 Memo from the Ministry of Education outlines the Ontario Workforce Strategy and the incremental workforce compensation funding for 2025 and 2026. More information about how to pay staff their grants and funding will soon be available. 

Site closures 

If a service provider charges fees to families or caregivers during a closure period, there are limits on how long the closure can last. Program closures must not exceed two consecutive weeks, and no more than four weeks (20 days) in a calendar year. The four weeks (20 days) include any closures for statutory holidays that fees are charged. 

Profits and surplus 

The Cost-Based Funding Approach will provide eligible service providers with a guaranteed profit or surplus. The amount will be approximately eight per cent. This profit or surplus helps cover opportunity costs and accounts for risks in running a business. Service providers can use this added funding to improve child care services. 

Service providers will be eligible to keep the final allocation in lieu of profit or surplus based on their actual program costs. If the amount of funding provided for a calendar year is more than the actual costs for that year, the City will recover any excess funds during the reconciliation process.  

Read the CWELCC Cost-Based Funding Guidelines for more details on profit and surplus.  

Non-CWELCC enrolled child care service providers or programs 

Licensed child care service providers who do not participate in CWELCC are not eligible for any routine child care funding. This includes: 

• General Operating (GO) funding 
• Fee subsidy funding* (existing fee subsidy placements will continue until the child ages out of the program) 
• Wage Enhancement Grants (WEG) 

*Licensed child care service providers, who only provide services for children ages 6  to 12, will continue to receive routine child care funding. 
The City has closed applications for the CWELCC System. Service providers can find information on the management of CWELCC growth in the City’s CWELCC directed growth strategy. 

Child Care and Early Years System Planning Advisory Group

The mandate of the Child Care and Early Years System Planning Advisory Group is to provide advice and guidance to the City of Ottawa on the planning and management of a high quality, affordable, accessible, and inclusive child care and early years system in Ottawa for all children and families.  For more information, please contact childrensservices@ottawa.ca.

Child Care Registry and Waitlist

The Child Care Registry and Waitlist is an online, centralized application used by parents to find and register for licensed child care in Ottawa. Parents can also apply for help to pay for their child care costs (fee subsidy). It is also used by child care providers to effectively manage their waitlists for both full fee and subsidized child care. Families can access the list of providers that have opted-in to the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System through the Child Care Registry and Waitlist Application (CCRAW).

If you are a new licensed child care service provider in Ottawa and would like to add a profile of your child care agency to the Child Care Registry and Waitlist, please email childrensservices@ottawa.ca.

Planning and research

• Ottawa Neighbourhood Study: Provides data on strengths and challenges for each neighbourhood in Ottawa. Compare neighbourhoods on child care services, social services, food resources, determinants of health, and more.
• geoOttawa: Find out which child care facilities are in your neighbourhood. Search by address, intersection, street segment or by facility. Interact with this web-based software by zooming in and out, by adding additional layers of information or by printing a current view of the map.

Starting / opening a licensed child care centre

To find out how to set up a licensed child care program in Ontario, prospective child care service providers can visit the Ministry of Education website.

Start and operate a not-for-profit

For information about applicable laws, as well as grants and financial support available to not-for-profits, go to the Ontario government web site.

Individuals with special needs

The Ministry of Education, through the City of Ottawa, provides funding for programs including individuals with special needs. 

Providers are encouraged to work with Children’s Services to develop a plan to ensure eligible children who receive fee subsidy and children with special needs have access to child care programs between September 1, 2022, and January 1, 2025.  For more information,  email childrensservices@ottawa.ca.

Children's Inclusion Support Services provides supports, in English and in French, to licensed child care programs (nursery schools, child care centres and home child care agencies) that include children with special needs, between 6 weeks to 10 years of age, within the City of Ottawa. The services provided by CISS include: 

• Consultation support through various consultant roles 
• Enhanced staff support funding 
• Professional development opportunities 
• A newsletter for operators/parents/guardians  
• Toys, equipment, DVDs 
• Reference books 

Quick links and resources

Key information

• Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014
• Ministry of Education – Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system Guidelines ADDENDUM TO Ontario Child Care and EarlyON Child and Family Centres Service Management and Funding guideline (2022) – released August 2022 [ 716 KB ]
• Canadian Child Care Federation

Plan ahead

Extreme weather can be especially dangerous for infants and young children. Child care service providers can plan ahead and check weather reports regularly for extreme weather conditions. Extreme weather may include:

• Wind chill factors
• Winter storm warnings
• Poor air quality
• Heat/humidex warnings

Assessing any risks when deciding whether children go outside to learn and/or play is important. Service providers should ensure children are dressed in weather-appropriate clothing. Changes to outdoor play, based on the weather conditions, should also be considered. 

Extreme heat and humidity

Extreme heat and humidity can be harmful. Infants and young children are at higher risk of heat-related illness, especially if there is limited or no access to a cooler indoor environment.

Certain groups are at higher risk of getting sick from heat including:

• Young children
• Pregnant people
• People with pre-existing health conditions
• People who work or exercise outdoors

It is important to think ahead and plan for ways to stay cool during hot weather.

The Ministry of Education’s Child Care Licensing Manual (January 2024), recommends that Service providers should prepare cooling activities when air conditioning is not available during hot weather. This could include a sprinkler during outdoor play time and taking steps to prevent children from overheating. If opening the windows, safety measures need to be in place to make sure that children cannot climb out the window or hurt themselves.

Resources for hot weather

• Environment Canada - provides local alerts and weather information
• Ottawa Public Health - information on how to protect yourself and help others during hot weather

If you need help during extreme heat and humidity:

• Call 8-1-1 Health Connect Ontario for non-emergency medical advice
• Call 9-1-1 for medical emergency assistance such as heat stroke

Cold weather

Exposure to cold temperatures can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening health effects. Extremely cold weather is dangerous to anyone. Children and infants, among others, are more vulnerable to extreme cold. Risks associated with cold temperatures include:

• Frostbite
• Hypothermia
• Slips and falls
• Death

The province's Child Care Licensing Manual (January 2024) requires child care centres to keep a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius indoors.

Resources for cold weather

• Environment Canada - provides local alerts and weather information.
• Refer to Ottawa Public Health - information on dressing for the cold and winter safety tips for babies and toddlers

If you need help during cold weather:

• Call 8-1-1 Health Connect Ontario for non-emergency medical advice
• Call 9-1-1 for medical emergency assistance such as hypothermia

Outdoor air pollution 

Car traffic, wildfires and other factors can affect the quality of the air we breathe. Infants and children are at higher risk to the health effects of outdoor air pollution. Air pollutants can be harmful if exposed to high levels, especially over long periods of time. It is important to be aware of where air pollution comes from and limit your exposure whenever possible.

Air pollution can cause short-term symptoms in people who are otherwise healthy, including:

• Tiredness
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Coughing and sneezing
• Wheezing or difficulty breathing
• More mucous in the nose or throat
• Dry or irritated eyes, nose, throat or skin

Service providers can check air quality by accessing the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for levels and forecast values throughout the day. For more information about the health effects of associated with air pollution, visit Ottawa Public Health.

Resources for air pollution

Ottawa Public Health provides information on:

• How to check the outdoor air quality
• How to protect yourself from outdoor air pollution

Learn more from Health Canada about minimizing the effects of air pollution.

If you have any questions about available funding programs, contact childrensservices@ottawa.ca.