Expression of Interest to Operate a Child Care Centre

Not for profit child care operators with a current service agreement for fee subsidy are eligible to apply.

The City is looking for operators that are committed to providing integrated services to families through collaboration with school boards and other learning and care services in the community ensuring accessibility to local needs.

Compliance with the following items is required.

1. Applicant holds a current Service Agreement for the provision of fee subsidy.
2. Applicant meets the requirements of a Not-for-profit Agency
3. Applicant meets or exceeds the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI) for each site operated by the applicant over the last two year period.
4. Applicant’s service agreement has been in good standing for a minimum of the last two years.  Note: Good standing will be assessed by the City through a review of Stop Admissions compliance with contract requirements.
5. Applicant currently meets Financial and Administration Criteria.

Include the Mandatory Documents and the following with your submission:

1. Organization’s program statement
   • reflects integrated services that are inclusive and support all children.
2. Copies of recent program plans
   • show specific program components to support children with special needs as outlined in the City’s Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI).
   • children’s interests reflected must be evident
3. Provide two (2) program plan samples for each age group.
   • for example, if you program plan weekly, your submission would include two weeks of program plans for each age group
4. A plan to offer developmentally appropriate programs for all age groups applied for
   • only if the organization has not had previous experience serving one or more age groups
5. Total of three (3) letters of support from parents or general membership of the agency.
   • A letter of support from a parent who is also a board member is acceptable;
   • support letters from parents should not only be from parent members of the Board
   • if the organization has general members, please consider including these letters as well.
6. Two (2) letters of reference from community partners
   • that show community collaboration experiences
7. Examples of previous experiences which show community collaboration program and community partnerships.
8. A plan to describe how the child care program will develop partnerships with:
   • local schools and
   • other early learning and care services specific to this new location.
9. Financial Viability and Budget Package
   • For copies of the budget package, please email childcare@toronto.ca.
   • Operators must prove:
     • a history of financial viability,
     • timely submission of required documents and reports,
     • and also compliance with the City’s financial requirements (as outlined in the Service Agreement and the City’s Financial Criteria).
   • The budget must be completed using annual revenue and expenses.
10. Letter of reference from organization’s current financial institution
11. Complete Children’s Services Financial Viability and Budget Package for the new site with all the required documentation attached

You must submit four original copies of the EOI application to:

Kelly O’Gorman,
Toronto Children’s Services
South District Office
214 Wellington St. Ground Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 0L9

For more information please email: childcare@toronto.ca

All Expression of Interest applications will be screened and evaluated by City staff and interviews will be conducted by a Review Panel comprised of a minimum of three members.

Application Evaluation

The EOI applications will be scored as follows:

• Stage 1: The EOI application will be screened on a pass or fail basis. A pass indicates that all fields have been completed and all mandatory documents have been included. If a field is not applicable to your organization, a brief explanation should be provided. A fail indicates that some fields and/or mandatory documents are incomplete or missing.
• Stage 2: This evaluation includes a review of your organizations alignment with TCS Service Plan and includes a review of AQI results over the past two years, a review of age group specific program plans, TCS Business Cycle requirements including Financial and Administration Criteria, Community Collaboration, School Board linkages, Letters of Reference.

Stage 2 also includes a full review of the organizations financial viability. This review will include a review of Business Cycle activities, Compliance with TCS Financial Criteria, review of Auditor’s Report, Start-up Cost plan, Budget submission, Salaries and Public Fees and Current Cash Flow Statement.

• Stage 3: Interviews: Applicants must have achieved a minimum score of 60 points to move on to this stage. Applicants at this stage will be invited to an interview with the Review Panel. Panel members will be determined based on their relevance to each location but may include; school boards, developers, and staff from Children’s Services and other City divisions. The interview will include a set of predetermined questions and the opportunity for the Applicant deliver a presentation.

Note: Where the school board is involved, the process will be adapted to include other procedures related to the school boards selection process.

Expression of Interest evaluation results shall be the absolute property of the City. The City does not disclose Expression of Interest evaluation results, before, during or after he evaluation process. However, applicants must be aware that such information may become public as a result of the need for transparency and accountability in decisions made by the City.

Note:  If the City does not receive an adequate number of satisfactory proposals, we reserve the right to negotiate with any Operator deemed suitable, where necessary.

Service Agreement for Fee Subsidy

The Toronto Child Care Service Plan sets out priorities for Toronto’s child care system. This includes setting geographic and age equity targets that ensure funding for child care fee subsidy is equitably distributed.

There is a waiting list for fee subsidy and eligible applicants will have to access fee subsidy on a first come first served basis, subject to ward and age equity targets. However, new child care operators may be prioritized for placement for the first six months of operation or until they achieve full enrolment, whichever occurs first.

Clients already receiving fee subsidy are able to transfer to a new centre if there is a physical vacancy. Families not requiring a fee subsidy are able to enrol their children in child care with a licensed physical vacancy and pay full fee.

Families may contact 311 or 416-338-8888 for more information on how to apply.