Many licensed childcare operators in Grey County have already submitted applications to enrol in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare agreement, around a month away from a key deadline.
Grey County Children’s Services Manager Tara Cockerill says there are 17 childcare centre head offices in the county — some operating numerous locations. She says 75 per cent of those head offices have submitted an application to opt-in to the fee reduction program and the county is currently in various stages of discussions with different operators.
In all, there are more than 40 licensed childcare centres in Grey County.
Grey County has not received any official opt-outs from any childcare operators yet, she says. But some have not yet submitted an application to the new system.
The deadline for operators to decide whether or not to opt-in is Sept. 1.
“And if they do opt-in at that time, families that have been using licensed childcare since April 1 would be eligible for a 25 per cent rebate of their childcare fees and that same 25 per cent reduction moving forward for the balance of the year,” Cockerill explains, noting the fee reduction applies for children under the age of six.
When can you expect to receive your rebate (retroactive to April 1) if you had an eligible child enrolled at a centre that enlists in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare program?
Cockerill says within 60 days of an operator officially opting-in and signing an agreement, families will have received their rebates. She says fee reductions will also be applied when operators enlist.
“If the centre opts-in for Sept. 1, the parents will see an adjustment to their fees at that time,” Cockerill explains.
Cockerill says the timeline moving forward would see fees decrease by 50 per cent of current rates by Jan. 1.
The county is still waiting for the framework from the Ministry of Education to administer the program in 2023 and guidance about how the additional rollout will be happening to get down to a $12 per day average across Ontario.
Meanwhile, Cockerill acknowledges there continues to be staffing pressures at some childcare centres in Grey County, but says there has been some relief in recent months in terms of overall capacity.
She says operators are currently at about 85 per cent of their licensed capacity. In the fall of 2021, that number was around 70 per cent due to staffing challenges.
Still, a long waitlist exists for a licensed childcare spot in the county. Cockerill says in the first quarter of 2022, there were about 850 kids on childcare waitlists. In all, Grey County currently has just over 2,500 licensed childcare spaces.