This program provides funding to licensed non-profit child care facilities, to support the development of a safe, nurturing environment that promotes young children’s growth and learning during the critical years of their development. Providing parents with a safe and nurturing program for their children also supports them in pursuing their employment or training opportunities. If you know the topic you are interested in, click on one of the sections below, or you can continue reading to cover all topics.
 

• Parents and other family members are the child’s primary caregivers and teachers. Any child care and development programs that parents may want to use should support and complement them in those primary roles;
   

• Early childhood care and development programs should be community-based and shaped by the culture of the participant community. They should involve parents, the community and community agencies in the way they are created and operated;
   

• To support the growth and development of each child, programs should provide a secure, nurturing environment and promote balanced development. They should be of high quality and based on established standards.

Program Support

Regional Early Childhood Consultants provide program support to early childhood facilities in their region. The consultants collect and share relevant information with the public and the child care facilities. They provide training to early childhood practitioners on specific topics on request. Licensed child care programs regularly receive newsletters that contain a variety of child development and programming ideas. Programs can also access resources from their Regional Early Childhood Consultant.

Funding

Licensed non-profit child care programs may be eligible to access funding in order to help them afford the costs related to starting a program, or the on-going costs of running an existing child care program. The Government provides funding based on the number of spaces in the facility, and is adjusted to the cost of living in each region. An additional amount of funding is provided to those facilities that are caring for infants and children with identified needs. Funding is also available to assist with minor health and safety renovations that may be needed to meet fire and health codes. Funding is available to full and part time centers and home-based programs.

How to Apply

Funding is only available to licensed child care facilities. If you would like to become licensed, see our Getting Licensed above. If you are licensed and would like to apply for funding, contact your Regional Early Childhood Consultant.