Child Care Operator Resources

Child getting knee injury wrapped by adult

How to Report

Serious Occurrences

All licensed child care programs are required to report all serious occurrences within 24 hrs of the occurrence as outlined in the Children Care and Early Years Act.

All serious occurrence reports are forwarded to City staff. They will follow up with operators as deemed necessary.

Report via Child Care Licensing Portal (One-Key)

Start a Licensed Child Care Program

Salary Survey & Per Diem Rates

To learn about how to set up a licensed child care program in Ontario visit the Ministry of Education website to learn more about licensing requirements.

Submit an Application

Login or register for Ontario’s Child Care Portal and Child Care Licensing System to submit an application for a licence,

Register on ONe-key Online Portal

To find out more information about child care services in Hamilton, email [email protected].

All licensees wishing to operate in Hamilton and participate in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, must meet the access and inclusion plans for the City of Hamilton. More information can be found at www.hamilton.ca/CWELCC.

Prior to applying for a license, all potential licensees must complete the Expression of Interest form found on www.hamilton.ca/CWELCC. Once your program has been licensed you may be interested in applying for a Funding Agreement with the City of Hamilton. Funding agreements enable your program to provide child care to families receiving fee subsidy and entitle your program to apply for various funding opportunities.

Learn more about how to apply for a funding agreement

The City of Hamilton has Funding Agreement with over 77 organizations who operate approximately 208 centre based licensed child care programs. The City conducts an annual review with these operators - part of that review is a salary survey and a per diem rate review.

Child Care System Salary Survey

Position	Description	Average Hourly Base Rate*	Average Hourly Rate with Wage Subsidy**
Supervisor	Holds administrative and/or teaching duties, and is the approved supervisor by the Ministry of Education (EDU).	$20.34	$24.29
Registered Early Childhood Educator	Meets the requirements determined by the College of Early Childhood Educators and is registered as such with the College.	$16.38	$19.61
Other Classroom Staff	Holds classroom duties, but is not a registered ECE.	$14.88	$17.59

*Base Rate: The hourly rate a child care organization pays to an employee without subsidies or benefits included.
**This includes General Operating Funding to Support Wages and Memorandum of Settlement (MOS) Pay Equity.
It does not include the new provincial wage enhancement grant. Information collected in March 2018.

Per Diem Rate Review

Age Group	Average Market Rate*	Average Municipal Rate*
Infant Full Day	$66.55	$63.21
Toddler Full Day	$53.47	$50.45
Preschool Full Day	$46.34	$43.60
Kindergarten Full Day	$43.08	$40.96
School Age Full Day	$41.86	$39.57
Kindergarten Before/After School	$24.72	$23.35
School Age Before/After School	$21.54	$20.80

*Information collected as of 2019

Community Resources

Local Networks & Organizations

Hamilton Child Care Registry
ASCY Hamilton
Information Hamilton
Resources for Early Years Community Partners-formerly Best Start

Key Information

Program & Curriculum Supports

Professional Learning for Child Care Operators

Professional Learning in the child care sector are coordinated and facilitated by Affiliated Services for Children & Youth (ASCY)

ASCY Professional Learning Calendar

Public Health Resources

Public Health Resources for Child Care Centres

Date modified

March 14, 2023