LAURIE WEIR

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program is being rolled out across the country, aiming to reduce childcare costs to an average of $12 per day for participating licensed providers.

While the program is a significant step forward in making child care more affordable for families, it has presented challenges for childcare providers who have faced rising costs since the introduction of frozen fees on March 27, 2022.

In response to concerns raised by service managers and licensees about the financial strain, the province has introduced the CWELCC Emerging Issues Funding. Lanark County has been allocated $381,360 under this funding to help stabilize childcare providers struggling to cover essential expenses.

Emily Hollington, the social services director for the county, stated in her report to county council on Aug. 14 that the new funding is specifically designed to support licensees who can demonstrate that their revenue for eligible spaces is insufficient to cover their non-discretionary costs. These costs must be necessary, economical, and incurred in the provision of childcare services for eligible children, with considerations for health and safety. The funding is not to be used for the creation of new spaces, non-care-related expenses, or for covering past debts or losses.

County council has been proactive in addressing these issues, having conducted advocacy work, including passing resolutions and participating in delegations to ensure that the concerns of local childcare providers are heard. Council is now moving forward with the implementation of the CWELCC Emerging Issues Funding.

Licensees will be required to submit both their current and previous years’ budgets, inform the county of their intent to apply for CWELCC and complete a variance report. Funding will be prioritized for those operating at a deficit, to bring them to a break-even point. Should the county’s allocation be insufficient, the funding will be distributed proportionately to reduce the deficits among all applicants.

If the allocation exceeds the amount needed to bring licensees to a break-even point, the excess will be used to equalize profit margins among all participating licensees. The funding per licensee will be capped at the amount applied for, ensuring a fair distribution of resources, as stated in the report notes.

Hollington said there are currently four providers operating in a negative position. “First we want to allocate funding there,” she said. “If the funding isn’t sufficient to bring everyone to a break-even point … then we will look at providing them proportionate revenue levels. But I don’t think we’ll reach the break-even point. Even with this, we will still have operators working in the deficit position.”

It’s great that they can help out a little bit more, she said, “but we’re still working through things with them.”

Hollington said they expect a new funding formula for 2025 to be announced soon. What that looks like, she doesn’t know yet. She said she hopes it evens out in the end, “so we don’t have some providers doing really well and others doing poorly.”

Lanark County council approved the Children’s Services Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Emerging Issues Policy. The policy aims to provide much-needed relief to childcare providers in the region, ensuring the sustainability of services as the CWELCC program continues to be rolled out.

Hollington said she would be back to council next month with an update on the county’s expansion plan. “The province has an expansion plan and we were allocated a number of spaces.”

She said she hopes to report to council to share where they’re at regarding the expansion, including results from a request for proposal that they would like to move forward with.

“It’s great – the expansion,” she said. “But it’s probably not going to address the demand.”