Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement

Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care 2023 Capped Rates

If a licensee was licensed on or before March 27, 2022, the cap on the base fee and on non base fees for child care for eligible children is the amount charged to parents on March 27, 2022. If a licensee becomes licensed after March 27, 2022, the cap on the base fee is based on a regional maximum as set out in O. Reg 137/15 77.1, which provides a table of capped fees by program and CMSM/DSSAB. These regional maximum fees would also apply to any new age groups that a licensee begins operating after March 27, 2022 (e.g., they apply to revise their license to add an infant room), or where a licensee begins operating an age group after March 27, 2022 that the licensee had not operated for at least two years (e.g., a licensee wishes to use an alternate capacity that has not been used recently or re-open a room that was closed during the pandemic). See O. Reg. 137/15 for further details.

Child Care Space Allocation in Hamilton

Ontario’s Ministry of Education has allocated these additional child care spaces from 2022 to 2026.

Early analysis has demonstrated the need to begin expansion in four wards, acknowledging that all wards have diversity and require a deeper review and a phased approach to ensure that we are meeting the needs of each neighbourhood.

In 2023, Children’s and Community Services Division will focus expansion in:

• Ward 6: East Mountain
• Ward 7: Central Mountain
• Ward 3: Hamilton Centre
• Ward 4: East Lower Hamilton

New Licensee Application Process

This process is for applicants that are:

•  Creating a new site (location).
•  Enrolling an entire Licensed Site(Location) into CWELCC.

Applications for CWELCC Child Care spaces is now closed and will re-open in early 2024.

Licensee Expansion Application Process

This process is for:

• Current licensees who are CWELCC-enrolled and wishing to increase their licensed capacity of CWELCC-eligible spaces at an existing site (location).
• Licensed Home Child Care Agencies.

Please note applicants need to follow the Prospective Licence process if they are:

• Creating a new site (location).
• Enrolling an entire licensed site (location) into CWELCC.

Applications for CWELCC Child Care spaces is now closed and will re-open in early 2024.

Licence Revision Form

If a licensee currently enrolled in CWELCC is looking to revise their programming, they must have it signed off by the City’s Children’s and Community Services Division for any of these revisions:

• licensed capacity
• age group served (including alternate capacity)
• program hours (e.g., less than 6 hours to more than 6 hours 
• increase the number of approved contracted homes (HCCA only)

You will need to download & complete the CWELCC Licence Revision Form.

Once completed, you can submit through the CWELCC Document Submission Form.

Operating Capacity Change Form

When your organization has any revisions to operating capacity or use of alternate capacity for periods longer than 3 months, you will need to submit one document per site.

Once completed, you can submit through the CWELCC Document Submission Form.

Workforce Compensation Funding Guidelines

The Canada-Wide Early Learning Child Care (CWELCC) system includes funding to support recruitment and retention of Ontario’s child care workforce through improved compensation for low wage earners.

The purpose of the Workforce Compensation funding is to provide:

• compensation for eligible Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) working in licensed childcare programs that opt-in to the CWELCC system
• compensation funding eligible licensees to offset wage increases for non-RECE staff associated with the increased minimum wage (effective October 1st, 2022)

According to the Ministry CWELCC guidelines, the expectation is that both the Annual Increase (AI) and Wage Floor (WF) funding be identified separately on paystubs. If the payroll system will not allow for additional lines, individualized letters must be provided and signed by the eligible staff. The letter must outline the portion of the staff wage paid by the employer (base pay); Provincial Wage Enhancement (WEG); CWELCC Annual Increase (AI); CWELCC Wage Floor (WF); and General Operating for Wages (GOG) if applicable. This letter should be reissued each time their base rate or other wage supplements change.

As per the CWELCC guidelines, the 2023 wage floor is $19 per hour for eligible RECE Program Staff and $21 per hour for eligible RECE Child Care Supervisors and RECE Home Child Care Visitors. To receive Wage Floor compensation, eligible staff must have an hourly wage inclusive of WEG and AI below the wage floor as at Jan1, 2023. At the current time we have not been informed of any impacts of the minimum wage increase to the wage floor eligibility.

If a Licensee determines they do not have sufficient funds based on eligible staffing hours, email Child Care Contract Analysts [email protected] for consideration of additional funding. There will be a midyear reconciliation which will provide the opportunity to project the amount of funding your centre will require for the remainder of the year.

To ensure compliance with the Workforce Compensation guidelines, Licensees will be required to complete a reconciliation template to confirm the distribution of the CWELCC Workforce Compensation Funding. This includes reporting: eligible hours, dollars paid, eligible age group category and percentage of time eligible.

As you are aware, the Ministry is working on a new Child Care Funding formula effective January 2024. As outlined in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care 2024 Child Care Funding Formula Discussion paper, the staffing grant will continue to include existing wage compensation grants, including the CWELCC Workforce Compensation funding. We will share with the community once we have information about the 2024 funding guidelines from the Ministry.

We will be creating and sending out a document for staff.

All data requirements noted above must be reported by all licensees and separately for staff serving the following age groups: eligible children (i.e., children under 6 years old), children aged 6 to 12 who are not eligible. If a staff member is serving both categories, they should be included in the category where they mostly work.

No, do not include GOG payments when determining if a staff qualifies for the CWELCC Workforce Compensation Funding.

No, eligible employees are to receive Annual Increase (AI) and Wage Floor (WF) for all hours worked. The only exception is if a RECE non-program staff spends at least 25% of their time to support ratio requirements as outlined in the CCEYA, in which case the staff would be eligible for the wage floor and annual wage increase for the hours they are supporting the ratio requirements.

Yes. Licensees are required to provide the compensation to all eligible employees for all hours worked retroactive to January 1, 2023.

The Annual Increase (AI) and Wage Floor (WF) applies to staff who qualify. To qualify, staff must:

• Be a RECE in good standing with the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) as outlined in the Early
• Childhood Educators Act, 2007.
• Be employed by an eligible service provider (as temporary, part-time or full-time and receive a T4) in a position categorized as:
  • RECE program staff
  • RECE supervisor (per license)
  • RECE Home Visitor

Note: Non-program staff who are a RECE in good standing with the CECE and spend at least 25% of their time meeting CCEYA ratio requirements, qualify for the number of hours worked in ratio.

• Receive the Wage Enhancement Grant (WEG).

Staff hired temporarily through a third party (such as an employment agency) do not qualify.

Yes. Eligibility for the up to $1 per hour AI increase is capped at $25 per hour (including the base wage and WEG). This cap is the same for all RECEs regardless of position and experience.

As noted in the CWELCC guidelines a RECE supervisor is a RECE who is in a supervisor position as indicated on the license (O. Reg. 137/15 s. 53). Only RECE supervisors and home visitors qualify for the $21/hour wage floor. Assistant supervisors who have a RECE designation and spend at least 25% of their time supporting CCEYA ratio requirements may qualify for the RECE Annual increase and/or the RECE program staff wage floor ($19/hour) for hours worked in program only.

This employee is eligible if they spend at least 25% of their time supporting ratios requirements as outlined in the CCEYA, in which case the staff would be eligible for the Annual Increase (AI) and Wage Floor (WF) for the hours they are supporting the ratio requirements.

Yes. To ensure equity of wages across staff serving different age groups, and to avoid these increases being passed onto parents through higher fees, RECE staff in licensed child care programs serving children aged 6 to 12, are eligible for Workforce compensation.

No. In-year employer wage increases don’t impact staff eligibility for the 2023 Workforce Compensation. Licensees are to use the base wage as of January 1, 2023 when determining staff eligibility. Workforce compensation funding must be considered in addition to and not reduce other planned compensation increases for eligible staff.

No. The 17.5% benefits for Workforce Compensation are to offset the cost of Employer benefit contributions such as CPP, EI, 4 % vacation, nine statutory holidays, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and Employer Health Tax.

As noted in the Ministry’s 2023 Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Guidelines, Workforce Compensation Funding includes an allocation of benefits to a cap of up to 17.5% in benefits to help cover the incremental benefits that result from the implementation of the Workforce Compensation Funding.

The 17.5% benefits are applied to the incremental Workforce Compensation Funding amount. If staff gets $18/hour base wage, plus $2/hour WEG, plus $1/hour WCF wage increase, the WCF 17.5% benefits are calculated on the $1/hour wage increase which equals $0.175/hour.