Canada-Wide Early Learning & Child Care (CWELCC) System – Operator Information

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system supports quality, accessibility, affordability and inclusivity in licensed child care.

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) – Information for Families page has more information for families about CWELCC.

CWELCC is a five-year plan that is being implemented in stages, to make child care more accessible and affordable. Fees will reduce every year, reaching an average fee of $10/day by 2025-2026.

CWELCC will:

  • Create more affordable, quality licensed child care spaces;
  • Support the early childhood workforce through enhanced compensation, training, and professional learning opportunities; and
  • Improve accessibility by addressing barriers to providing inclusive and flexible child care.

As the service system manager for Toronto, the City’s role in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system is to:

  • Implement provincial guidelines;
  • Establish local policies, procedures and funding approaches;
  • Develop and implement an application and approval process for the CWELCC system;
  • Contract for CWELCC funding through Service Agreements;
  • Provide fiscal oversight & funding; and
  • Report to the Ministry of Education and Toronto City Council on the CWELCC system.

For more information and details for operators, get in touch with your District Consultant or email CWELCC@toronto.ca.

For information about a specific child care location please contact the program directly.

As of January 1, 2023, CWELCC participating Child Care Centres and Home Child Care Agencies must:

  • Increase the wages of all eligible RECE staff by the $1 Annual Wage Increase up to $25 (including Provincial Wage Enhancement [PWE])
  • Ensure eligible RECE staff that make under the $19/hour wage floor (inclusive of PWE and the Annual Wage Increase) be brought to the minimum of $19/hour
  • Ensure eligible RECE Supervisors or Home Visitors staff that make under the $21/hour wage floor (inclusive of PWE and the Annual Wage Increase) be brought to $21/hour
  • PWE is referred to as the Wage Enhancement Grant (WEG) in the Ministry of Education 2023 Guidelines, this is the same program referred to by different names

2023 Workforce Compensation Process

  • Eligibility: Licensees will be required to apply and be approved for the 2023 PWE (referred to as the Wage Enhancement Grant in the Ministry of Education 2023 Guidelines) to be eligible for the wage floor or Annual Wage Increase under CWELCC. Workforce funding payments will be dispersed after PWE approvals.
  • Application: The City is working to find efficiencies by aligning the data and submission requirements to the existing PWE and budget processes.
  • Payment: There will be a separate payment made to CWELCC participating agencies once the workforce compensation allocation is determined. This payment type is coded ‘CWW’ and will have a corresponding remark seen on the payment notice. Other CWELCC funding can be used to support these costs until workforce funding has been paid to locations and HCC Agencies.
  • Payment Timing: The Q1 and Q2 payments will be processed in late May after the 2023 PWE is approved. The Q3 Workforce payment will be processed in late June, with the Q4 payment processed in late September. Operators are required to begin distribution of funds to all eligible staff positions within 60 calendar days of receiving the payment and ensure that the increases are included on each pay going forward.
  • Reconciliation: The City is working to align the reconciliation for workforce compensation with the PWE and other existing financial processes.
  • Documenting staff wages: Operators must clearly indicate on staff paystubs/information the portion of CWELCC funding that is being provided, OR through a separate letter.

Approved CWELCC programs must reduce their fees 52.75% from the 2022 fee freeze rate as of December 31, 2022.

  • All CWELCC programs must post a fee memo that shows a fee with the 52.75% reduction.
  • Child care centres with a Service Agreement for Fee Subsidy must print and post the system generated fee memo from the Budget App.
    • The system generated fee memo has been updated and shows the fee with a 52.75% fee reduction.
    • Only CWELCC-funded centres will see the statement of “participating” in CWELCC on the system generated fee memo.
    • For School Age programs, the 2022 base frozen fee for eligible children must also be reduced by 52.75 per cent:
      • This reduction is not shown on the system generated fee memo in 2023.
    • Centres may post an additional fee memo or write the CWELCC school-age fee on the system generated fee memo.

CWELCC Affordability 2023 Q1 Advance

  • The City will pay a first quarter advance to replace the revenue from the 52.75% fee reduction for families (this payment will be processed on January 1, 2023, as CWELCC Affordability).
  • The advance calculation is: 2022 frozen fees freeze multiplied by 2022 operating capacity multiplied by 65 operating days multiplied by 52.75% reduction.
  • This funding is considered an advance and will be reconciled

CWELCC Affordability April to December 2022

  • Full fee families must receive a refund of 25 per cent of the base fees paid (frozen to March 27, 2022 unless a fee increase was communicated before March 27, 2022), to a minimum daily fee of $12 per day.
  • Families in receipt of fee subsidy are also entitled to a 25 per cent refund of their parental contribution. The $12 per day minimum does not apply to families in receipt of a fee subsidy.
    • A guide on the CWELCC Fee Subsidy Reduction Report is in the Online Services portal (on the Attendance Application landing page, under the Quick Links section).
    • This guide explains the steps required to access and view the CWELCC Fee Subsidy Reduction Report in Online Services.
    • Only Group Centres and Home Child Care agencies with a Service Agreement for fee subsidy require this report to determine the reduction for fee subsidy families.

Implementation Grant

To support the successful implementation of the CWELCC system, the City is providing agencies with a CWELCC Implementation Grant. This funding will support the initial administrative costs of refunding families, updating, and communicating a new fee memo and Parent Handbook, and establishing systems to meet financial reporting requirements.

In 2022 all agencies who opt-in and are approved to participate in CWELCC in 2022 are eligible to receive this Implementation Grant.  This grant will be processed automatically, and no application is required.

The calculation for the Implementation Grant is based on Operating capacity, using a rate of $250 per space, subject to a floor of $10,000 and a maximum of $200,000 for agencies under 2,000 spaces and $250,000 for agencies over 2,000 spaces.

2023 Opt-in

The 2022 open application process for CWELCC has ended. For 2023, the Province of Ontario has implemented a targeted approach for CWELCC growth. This approach reflects the available Provincial funding. The Province has committed to expanding the CWELCC system by adding 53,000 new spaces across Ontario by 2026. Each Service System Manager in Ontario will be provided an expansion target with the associated CWELCC funding. Approval of any expansion will be based on an Access and Inclusion Framework being developed by the Ministry of Education.

2023 CWELCC Requested For New Licence or License Revision Applications

The City will not review new licenses or revisions of existing licenses that are requesting CWELCC funding at this time.

When the City receives information from the Province regarding the Access and Inclusion Framework, growth and expansion targets and associated funding, we will develop the process to approve requests. We expect to provide an update in spring 2023.

2023 CWELCC Funding NOT Requested For New Licence or License Revision Applications

Operators who are not requesting enrolment into CWELCC can submit the Ministry of Education’s “New Licence Application Service System Manager Confirmation Form” by emailing it to Toronto Children’s Services at childcare@toronto.ca.