Background
On March 28, 2022, Ontario signed onto the new Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) Agreement initiated and funded by the Government of Canada.
CWELCC is a five-year plan to reduce the cost of child care to an average of $10 per day for eligible families.
Child care fee reduction is available for eligible families whose child care service providers have opted into the CWELCC System. Families are to contact their child care providers for fee reduction.
Fee reduction
Under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, rates have been reduced by 52.75% since 2022. The province has outlined their goal to reach an average fee of $10 a day by 2025/2026 for children participating in CWELCC-enrolled programs.
Families
A child under the age of 6 who is enrolled in a CWELCC program is eligible for a child care rate reduction up to 52.75%. The amount a family will pay depends on the original rates of the child care provider and the location of the provider. Families do not need to apply to get a reduced rate. Families can contact their child care provider to ask about the reduced rates available at their site.
Important note: Not all licensed child care programs are participating in the CWELCC program. CWELCC rate reductions are only available for programs enrolled in CWELCC.
Looking for licensed child care?
The Ottawa Child Care Registry and Waitlist is an online application tool for parents looking for licensed child care. Families can:
- Choose:
- home-based care
- centre-based care
- school age care
- nursery/pre-school care
- Apply for full fee (Registry) or fee subsidy (Waitlist) by completing just one application
- Find the list of providers that are enrolled in the CWELCC System.
Need help with the cost of child care?
If you need extra support to pay for child care, you can apply to get help with your child care costs.
For families
The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System:
- Gives families more affordable child care options
- Helps lower child care fees for eligible families
- Increases child care spaces
- Supports early years workers
A child must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a CWELCC fee reduction:
Program: A child must be enrolled in a licensed child care program that is participating in the CWELCC system.
Age: Children below the age of six.
There are additional eligibility criteria for children who will soon turn six, or who have recently turned six:
- A child will remain eligible for a CWELCC fee reduction until the last day of the month that they turn six, in any CWELCC child care program. For example, a child who is enrolled in a CWELCC participating program and who turns six on November 10 will be eligible for CWELCC fee reduction until the end of November. AND;
- If a child turns six between January 1 and June 30 while registered with a CWELCC participating extended day program, pre-school, licensed family age group, kindergarten or home child care program, the child remains eligible for a CWELCC fee reduction until June 30 of that same year.
What this means for families:
Fee reduction is provided by child care providers that have opted into the CWELCC System. The amount that families will save depends on what they are currently paying and may vary from one provider to another. Please contact your child care service provider to confirm fee reduction in 2023.
Camps and authorized recreation programs are not eligible to participate in the CWELCC System.
For eligible full fee-paying families
Child care service providers that have opted into the CWELCC System are responsible for fee reductions. Please contact your child care service provider for fee reduction in 2023.
For eligible families receiving a child care fee-subsidy
- 2023 fee reduction will be processed by the City of Ottawa.
- Families do not need to apply to receive a reduction.
Provider has chosen not to participate
- Provider will not receive CWELCC funding.
- Provider will continue to set their own fees.
- Families will not be eligible for any refund or reduction in fees.
- Families who want a provider participating in CWELCC can login to the City of Ottawa Child Care Registry and Waitlist to find the list of providers that have opted-in the CWELCC System.
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care directed growth strategy
The Provincial CWELCC Directed Growth Strategy explains the approach the City is taking to create new, CWELCC-funded child care spaces for schools and communities across Ottawa until 2026. This strategy will be applied in phases and will depend on provincial goals and available funding. The City manages and directs this strategy at the local level.
CWELCC system
The CWELCC system is not universal, and spaces are limited based on provincial guidelines and funding. The current demand for new CWELCC spaces in Ottawa exceeds the availability. The City is actively working with the Province to advocate for additional CWELCC-funded child care spaces to better support families in our community.
CWELCC directed growth strategy background
In 2023, the Province changed its approach from open to directed CWELCC-growth. With this approach, funding is provided to create a limited number of new CWELCC-funded spaces, with a goal to support areas and groups most in need.
The Province allocated 2,903 new CWELCC-funded child care spaces for Ottawa from 2023 to 2026. This includes 713 child care spaces for new school-based locations and 2,190 child care spaces for the community. The City used provincial guidelines, the Provincial Access and Inclusion Framework, and the Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan to inform the local directed growth strategy.
Both an equity and inclusion lens, and an evidence-based approach, were also used to identify:
- Priority groups in need of CWELCC-funded spaces, including:
- Indigenous children
- Francophone children
- Children with special needs
- Children from diverse communities including Black, racialized and newcomers
- Low-income families
- Sole support parents/families
- Priority areas of the city to increase access to affordable child care. This includes neighbourhoods that are underserved and experiencing lower socio-economic status.
The City recognizes that many areas of Ottawa have equity, diversity and inclusion needs. The goal of the local strategy is to work toward ensuring that 40 per cent of families in these priority areas can access affordable child care.
New CWELCC-funded child care spaces
In spring 2023, The City invited child care service providers to express their interest in new CWELCC-funded spaces through a Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) process. This process followed the Provincial guidelines, The City’s directed growth strategy, and the Child Care and Early Year Service System Plan.
Key points about CWELCC-growth:
- The REOI focused only on new community-based child care spaces. New school-based child care spaces are pre-determined by the Province.
- The REOI aimed to meet Provincial targets for keeping or growing not-for-profit licensed child care spaces.
In summer 2023, the City assessed all REOI applications and allocated new community child care spaces for 2023 to 2024. Eligible service providers included:
- Not-for-profit service providers
- Those located in priority neighbourhoods, and
- Agencies showing high levels of readiness
These service providers also received Provincial Start-up Grants to create new CWELCC-funded child care spaces.
Read the July 25, 2024 Memo to Council for more information about the 2023 to 2024 Request for Expression of Interest and Directed Growth Strategy.
Next steps
The City continues to work with the Province to expand the CWELCC program and support local child care service providers to offer high quality and affordable child care.
The Child Care Registry and Waitlist (CCRAW) is updated as new CWELCC-funded child care spaces become available. Families can keep their information and preferred providers up to date using the CCRAW.