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Child care funding: Where do we stand now?

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Author: 
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
Format: 
Fact sheet
Publication Date: 
14 Aug 2012
AVAILABILITY

Text and links from the OCBCC website:

After the hard work and advocacy of the child care community, and collaborative work between the Ontario NDP and Liberals, $242 million over 3 years of new child care funding was secured in the 2012 budget. (For more on the announcement of this funding, click here.)

The portion of 2012′s funding to be used for financial impacts from FDK and transitional issues have now been flowed through to municipalities. If you want to find out how the funds are to be distributed within your municipality, contact your children's services representative.

Below, you will find a summary of the policies that have been put out by the Ministry of Education thus far.

Throughout the month of July, the Ministry has released memos as well as guidelines for municipalities regarding new funding to support the transition to serving younger children. All Ministry of Education memos & guidelines regarding child care can be found here.

Schools-First Child Care Capital Retrofit Policy

(click here for the relevant memo)

A follow-up to the release of Modernizing Child Care's emphasis on child care located in or tied to schools, this memo establishes a capital investment in retrofitting school-based child care spaces. As part of capital funding to school boards, $113 million over three years will be directed at converting existing school-based child care spaces for four and five year olds to be licensed for younger children (ie. 0-4).

The idea behind the policy is that repurposed space may be used by an existing on-site child care operator or a non-profit community child care operator that wishes to relocate into a school setting. The policy does not include an expansion of child care system; however, it will significantly increase the number of child care spaces for children 0-3.8 years old in schools

Child Care Funding for Transition Operating and Capital, Health and Safety Minor Capital, and Capacity Funding to Support Transformation

(click here for the relevant memo)

A portion of the 2012 allotment of new child care funding has already been allocated to municipalities to address the immediate needs of the sector while a new funding model is being developed.

Funding flowing to municipalities right now is to be used by December 31st, 2012 and is divided in to the following categories:

1) Transition operating

  • Funding is intended for existing child care operators who have been impacted by the implementation of full day kindergarten and should be used to support the refocusing of child care services for children under 4 years old.
  • Funds are available to both non-profit (and public) and for-profit operators.
  • Operating funding is intended to support child care fee subsidies wherever possible, but may also be used for special needs resourcing and/or one-time start-up grants to support costs associated with FDK implementation (ie. Moving costs, toys and equipment).
  • Transition operating funding may NOT be used for the following: Wage subsidy or wage improvements; Consultants; Administration; or Professional development

2) Transition capital (available only to non-profit and municipal child care centres make retrofits and renovations to serve younger children)

Funds cannot be used to purchase toys or equipment (considered an operating expense)

3) Health & Safety Minor Capital

4) Capacity funding to support transition

This funding is intended to help non-profit licensed child care programs address costs related to legal fees and advice to support operators' transformation, mergers and consolidations, relocation costs to schools, and costs for information technology used for administrative and business purposes.

For the Ministry of Education's guidelines put out for this transition funding, please click here.

New child care funding for First Nations child care: Special needs resourcing, Ontario Works child care, and Health & Safety funding

For the relevant memo, please click here.

 

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