Child care service providers

CWELCC Guidelines update

Children’s Services is reviewing the new CWELCC Cost-Based Funding Guidelines. Updates for service providers will be available soon.

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Information for child care service providers and child care professionals

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

Extreme weather information for child care service providers

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

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

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:

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

Funding information and applications for child care agencies

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