Get help with your child care costs

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Child care fee subsidy

Child care fee subsidy is a financial assistance program that can help families with low and moderate incomes with the costs of licensed child care. Fee subsidy is available for children up to age 13 at licensed child care programs or licensed home providers in Ottawa. Based on eligibility, the subsidy may cover all, or part, of a family’s child care costs.

Families with children in licensed child care participating in the Canada Wide Early Learning Child Care System (CWELCC) system may also qualify for subsidy. The City works directly with local child care service providers to offer high quality and affordable child care for all families.

To qualify for subsidy, you must:

  • Live in Ottawa
  • Have a child who is 12 years-old or younger
  • Meet the financial need for care
  • Have a reason for care
  • Hold eligible immigration or refugee status

After your subsidy is approved

Appealing a decision on your subsidy file

If you disagree with a decision about a fee subsidy, you can ask the City for an internal review. Contact your child care case worker for information on this process.

At any point you are able to appeal any decision made about your file.

Maintaining subsidy

To maintain your fee subsidy, you must follow the guidelines in the Rights and Responsibilities document this includes an annual file review.

A review of your file will be completed at least once a year. You will be contacted by a case worker to provide updated documents to assess your ongoing eligibility. Any changes to your family’s situation and/or financial status can impact your eligibility for child care fee subsidy.

Your responsibilities

You may need to repay any fee subsidy payment that is made to you if you have any undeclared changes or misrepresentation to your family’s situation that affects your childcare fee subsidy eligibility (called an overpayment). You must repay all overpayments, even if you are no longer receiving a fee subsidy.

Changes to your family’s situation may include: 

  • Address, phone number and e-mail address
  • Marital or cohabitation status
  • Birth of children
  • Child custody arrangements
  • Participation in activities that support your recognized need for care
  • Salary changes and source of income

Absences from a child care program

Families must contact the child care program directly to report an absence. Each child with a fee subsidy receives up to 36 allowable days each calendar year (January 1 to December 31) for absences. For more information about absences from your child care program, please contact a child care case worker. A request for additional days of absence can be made through your child care case worker before exceeding all your child's allowable absent days. Families can complete the online Paid Days Away Request Form.

Childcare Fee Subsidy Calculator