Grey County staff are recommending councillors support home childcare services’ participation in the Canada Wide Early Learning and Childcare system.
The new system, which was an election promise made by the now federal Liberal government is aiming for an average of $10 per day childcare for children under the age of six by September 2025.
The Grey County Home Child Care Agency supports rostered home child care providers in Grey County.
A staff report to Committee of the Whole to be presented August 11th says the deadline to opt in or out is September 1st.
If the County opts in, staff say families using rostered providers with the Grey County Home Child Care Agency will see a 25 per cent reduction in their daily fees.
They say families rostered with an active, licensed provider between April 1 and September 1, 2022, will also be eligible for a rebate for fees paid to rostered providers during that time.
According to County staff, if the County opts in, its home child care agency will support providers with tools to ensure a seamless implementation of the fee reduction.
A story by Bayshore Broadcasting News in late July reported 75 per cent of the County’s 17 childcare centre head offices had applied to opt in to the fee reduction program. There are more than 40 licensed childcare centres in Grey County.