Expression of Interest to Operate a Child Care
The City of Toronto undertakes an Expression of Interest process when selecting an operator for a newly built or renovated child care space funded by the City.
Currently there are no active Expressions of Interest to operate a child care.
Not-for-profit child care operators or public institutions 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.
- Applicant holds a current Service Agreement for the provision of fee subsidy.
- Applicant meets the requirements of a not-for-profit agency (public institutions will submit documentation to support the public institution status)
- Applicant meets or exceeds the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI) for each site operated by the applicant over the last two year period.
- 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.
- Applicant currently meets Financial and Administration Criteria.
All Expression of Interest applications will be screened and evaluated and interviews will be conducted by a Review Panel.
Application Evaluation
The Expression of Interest process consists of three stages.
- Stage 1: Agencies must submit their complete Expression of Interest packages by the deadline.
- Mandatory Agency, Program and Document requirements must be met. Agency must submit the signed Mandatory Program Requirement document.
- Stage 2: Submitted Expression of Interest packages will be evaluated the for completeness and will be scored on their submission.
- Stage 3: Organizations that are successful in Stage 2 will be invited to a Review Panel Interview.
Decision
The applicant’s Expression of Interest that best meets the requirements of the City, in the absolute discretion of the City, in consultation with the Review Panel, will be designated as the preferred agency.
No obligation will arise until an agreement, based on the accepted Expression of Interest application, has been authorized and executed by the appropriate City authority.
After receipt of Expression of Interest applications and at any time prior to the execution of an agreement, the City may request clarification on any items related to the Expression of Interest and conduct negotiations with the preferred agency. The City, at its sole discretion, may adjust the evaluation score or ranking of an applicant as an outcome of the clarification process.
Notes
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.
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.
Scoring
| Criteria | Weighting Percentage |
|---|---|
| Program Delivery and Community Collaboration | 40% |
| Financial Viability | 40% |
| Interview | 20% |