Excerpt: "The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide further information for service system managers and child care licensees, and to invite feedback as the Ministry of Education continues to design and develop the 2024 Canada-wide Early Learning Child Care (CWELCC) funding formula. Your feedback on this discussion paper will be vital to help the Ministry of Education refine the CWELCC funding formula which will support the child care sector and in turn help Ontario’s families access affordable child care. Additional details will be provided later about elements such as special needs resourcing. The discussion paper includes an overview of the proposed grant allocations, formulas (where they have been developed) and other criteria and parameters to calculate Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM) and District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) calendar year funding allocations for the CWELCC system."
Excerpt: "Newfoundland and Labrador is a leader in creating access to affordable child care, having moved to $10 a day more than two years ahead of schedule. Budget 2023 investments will sustain our progress and target the creation of 700 new child care spaces this year. Budget 2023 investments include: $64 million to increase wages for early childhood educators through the implementation of a wage grid, which comes into effect on April 1 and is retroactive to January 1, 2023; Approximately $6 million for retention and recruitment initiatives; $2.7 million for student bursaries; $3.5 million to expand the Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Program and an additional $1.8 million to create new spaces; $200,000 to attract the return of trained early childhood educators to the sector."
Excerpt: "To continue to make early learning and child care accessible, affordable, and inclusive for all families, in 2023-24 EECD will: Continue to take steps to implement the Canada – Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement by developing a 2023-2026 Action Plan and outlining the approach to move toward a $10 a day on average child care by 2025-2026; Develop a space expansion strategy to inform the next stage of growth within the sector; Evaluate and expand the Quality Matters initiative, with a plan for full rollout across the sector, including family home child care and before-and-after care, by 2025-2026; Release the revised Early Learning Curriculum Framework and Educators’ Guide in English and French in fall 2023; Continue to develop and transition to a certification model for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs); Fully roll-out the Advanced Practitioners’ Program; a post-diploma certificate program to advance ECE knowledge and competence in a specialized area of practice, such as infants and toddlers, young children, outdoor play, or pedagogical leadership; Extend professional development opportunities currently being provided through EECD and support sites to family home child care providers; Launch the first in-person French-language ECE diploma program through Université Sainte Anne; Work with the sector to establish a standardized level of health benefits and retirement benefits for ECEs in 2023."
Excerpt: "The federal government’s historic investment in a Canada-wide early leaning and child care system is making life more affordable for families, helping to give children across Canada the best start in life, and strengthening our workforce. Today, fewer women have to choose between their family and their career, and in February 2023, the labour force participation rate for women in their prime working years reached a record 85.7 per cent. By April 2, 2023, six provinces and territories will be providing regulated child care for an average of just $10-a-day or less—significantly ahead of schedule. All other provinces and territories remain on track to achieve $10-a-day child care by 2026. In Quebec, federal investments are continuing to make the existing child care system more accessible through the creation of new spaces."
Excerpt: "Manitoba is working towards expanding and strengthening the early learning and child-care system throughout the province. This includes significant investments in workforce retention and recruitment and increasing the number of funded licensed spaces. The government is also reducing parent fees to make early learning and child care more affordable and accessible for all Manitobans. Budget 2023 makes a number of investments in early learning and child care, including: investing $76.1-million to reduce regulated parent; fees to $10 per day, well in advance of the target; date of Mar. 31, 2026; and launching a multi-year training expansion plan for the early learning and child-care workforce, including early childhood educators and child-care assistants, in partnership with post-secondary institutions."
Excerpt: "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador today announced details of a new wage grid for early childhood educators working in regulated child care centres that are part of the Operating Grant Program. The wage grid takes effect on April 1, 2023 with a base rate of $25 an hour for Level II early childhood educators who hold a two-year diploma. This is the starting rate for a new graduate. Early childhood educators who continue to further their education and are awarded a higher certification level will be placed at Step One of their new level. Each step on the grid lasts 12 months, and are effective as of January 1, 2023."
Excerpt: "For licensed child care sites enrolled in the Canada-wide early learning and child care system, the Canada-Ontario agreement initially reduced licensed child care fees for children under the age of six by 25%, retroactive to April 1,2022. By the end of 2022, fees in participating licensed child care programs were further lowered, resulting in a total reduction of 50% on average compared to 2020 levels. This could save Ontario families an average of $6,000 to $10,000 per child per year moving forward, based on provincial savings scenarios."
Excerpt: "Ontario continues to work with municipalities and other partners to create 86,000 new, high‐quality child care spaces by December 2026. To support this, the government launched a $213 million grant program for new and existing operators to help offset the costs of expanding or creating spaces such as purchasing equipment or renovating facilities. By providing startup grants, the government is helping to create new child care spaces for communities that need them the most."
Excerpt: "The 2023-24 Budget provides $382.4 million, an increase of $72.1 million or 23.3 per cent over last year for early learning and child care that supports young families in our province. This funding will reduce child care fees for families of children up to the age of six to $10 per day as of April 1, 2023. It will also be used to further increase the number of regulated home-based and centre-based child care spaces in the province, as part of the ongoing goal of ensuring families have access to regulated child care."
Excerpt: "Through the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Child Care Agreement, the government will provide $37 million in 2023-24, bringing the total investment to $143 million, to improve access to affordable, quality designated child-care spaces throughout the province. An additional $4 million will be allocated to support the creation of additional preschool spaces within the for-profit sector. For the first time in decades, population growth is also having a direct impact in the education system. For the current school year, enrolment increased by more than 4,200. An additional 2,200 students are anticipated to arrive in the 2023-24 school year. The following investments will be made across all levels of the education system: $33.3 million will be allocated for more classroom teachers, facility requirements, and an increase in instructional materials; $2.4 million will be invested in supports for early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder; $30.8 million to fund improvements to New Brunswick’s inclusive education system; $8.7 million to be invested in supports for improved literacy and numeracy; $4.4 million to support language acquisition of newcomer students; $2 million to be invested in student access to healthy foods in schools without an existing program; $14.8 million to address cost pressures associated with energy, transportation and contracted services; Up to $8.4 million to be invested in operational funding for public universities; $7.6 million to increase loan and bursary programs for post-secondary students requiring financial assistance."
Excerpt: "The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Furey, today announced that Newfoundland and Labrador families are now benefitting from $10-a-day regulated child care – three years ahead of the national target. With $10-a-day child care, families are now saving an estimated $6,300 per year for each child in care. Newfoundland and Labrador also announced the opening of the first pre-kindergarten centres in the province. Supported by federal funding, these pre-kindergarten centres will allow more children and families across the province to access high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care."
Excerpt: "Families in rural Saskatchewan with young children will have access to further mobile early learning opportunities, thanks to an additional $405,000 investment from the Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada. Funding for KidsFirst Regional programming was $823,500 in 2022-23. This additional investment, recently provided to KidsFirst Regional areas increases the total program funding to $1.2 million. KidsFirst Regional travels to communities across the province bringing unique learning opportunities to children up to age five with programs such as take-home literacy kits, story walks and pop-up preschool events. This increase in funding will allow KidsFirst Regional to reach more children in their own communities with learning initiatives that focus on child development, literacy, nutrition and health and well-being."
