Contract & Financial Information

Early Learning & Child Care partners can find Contract & Finance Management information below. For further information please contact a Children’s Services staff as listed in the A-Z list of Licensed Child Care Centres.

The Business Cycle is currently being updated. A revised version will be posted once finalized.

Le cycle d’activités est actuellement en cours de mise à jour. Une version révisée sera publiée une fois finalisée.

Agencies with an existing Service Agreement with Toronto Children’s Services that are considering a closure or relocation of their child care centre (temporary or permanent) must contact their District Consultant for further information.  Contact information can be found in the A-Z Listing.

In accordance with Section 3.3 of the 2025 CWELCC Cost-Based Funding Guideline, the Ministry of Education requires Toronto Children’s Services (TCS) to review the costs of selected group child care centers and home child care agencies who are participating in the CWELCC program.  The centers and agencies will be selected based on criteria defined by the Province, which prioritizes those with child care locations with the high top up allocations in 2025.

Per the Ministry’s Guideline, the goal of these cost reviews is not to reduce quality, but to gradually shift the overall cost of providing child care towards more standardized costs as represented by benchmark allocations.

TCS has initiated the Cost Review process and will apply the Ministry’s criteria to identify selected centres and agencies for the 2025 Cost Review. Selected centers and agencies will receive formal notification by email from TCS, including detailed instructions on required information and next steps.

Standardized Financial Reporting (SFR) enables consistent financial information to be collected across licensees, supporting comparable cost analysis, compliance verification, and consistent administration of CWELCC cost-based funding.

All group child care centres and home child care agencies receiving CWELCC funding must complete the funding reconciliation process, which includes:

  1. Audited Financial Statements submitted in accordance with the 2025 Funding Reconciliation Guidelines
  2. Standardized Financial Reporting

Standardized Financial Reports (SFRs)

SFRs report eligible CWELCC costs incurred between January 1 and December 31 of the applicable funding year for each eligible child care centre or home Child Care agency. The Standardized Financial Reporting (SFR) process is a provincial requirement and includes:

  1. Standardized Financial Reports (SFRs) available through TCS Online Services Portal
  2. Annual Attestation (the signature page included within the SFR form) The Annual Attestation must be signed by an individual with appropriate signing authority confirming that CWELCC funding was used in accordance with program requirements.
  3. SFR Survey available through Medallia Survey Platform. The SFR Survey collects additional operational information to support Toronto Children’s Services’ review of submitted reports.

Key Dates

Deadline: April 19, 2026

This deadline cannot be extended, as it is required to meet provincial reporting timelines.

For Tools

Supplementary Capital Funding (SCF) is available to help eligible licensed child care centres and home child care agencies cover one-time, unexpected and non-discretionary capital costs that cannot be funded through the Cost-Based Funding Allocation (CBFA) or other available funding sources. Further information can be found on the Supplementary Capital Funding (SCF) page.

Agencies that are considering a sale or transfer of shares are subject to an application process to determine if the Service Agreement is eligible for transfer and if the transfer will be approved.

Service Agreement

The continuation of the Service Agreement depends on various factors, including if the agreement is and remains in good standing, legal confirmation of the sale of shares, assurance of continued financial viability, the Purchaser’s child care experience, and receipt of all necessary supporting documentation.

For the fee subsidy funding to continue, the General Manager may grant approval on a case-by-case basis.

For Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) enrolled locations, the Ministry of Education’s 2024 CWELCC Guidelines state that a sale of shares could result in a continuation of the Service Agreement. For a sale of assets, the Purchaser would be treated as a new licensee and enrollment in CWELCC is not transferable.

Both Seller and Purchaser are fully responsible for conducting due diligence related to the change of control before closing the transaction. Concerns or questions would be directed to respective legal counsel. City of Toronto does not approve or disapprove any aspect of the transaction.

The City of Toronto, in its sole discretion, approves or denies the continuation of an existing Service Agreement after a change of control.

If your Agency is considering a sale or transfer of shares, please contact the District Consultant assigned to your child care location for further information. Contact information can be found in the A-Z Listing.

Agencies with a Service Agreement with the City of Toronto may receive payments in advance of delivering services to children and families. Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) funding, along with fee subsidy advances for child care centres and home child care agencies, are typically issued on a monthly basis. Payments for EarlyON Child and Family Programs, Every Child Belongs (Special Needs Resourcing), Pay Equity, and Wage Subsidy funding are processed quarterly. All funds are generally deposited into your bank account by the fifth business day of the month in which the payment is due. Please contact your District Consultant if you have any payment-related questions.