Agencies Who Provide Support to Child Care Centres

Child care centres have support at both the provincial and municipal levels to help them meet legislative requirements. Local boards of health work with child care centre owners/operators and agencies such as the Ministry of Education to ensure child care centres implement necessary infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures. Below are some of the agencies that support child care centres in the City of Toronto.

Toronto Public Health

Toronto Public Health has many responsibilities relevant to child care centres under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA), the Ontario Public Health Standards, and the Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA). Responsibilities include:

  • Conducting annual IPAC inspections at all licensed child care centres in Toronto
  • Conducting food safety inspections at child care centres that meet the definition of a food premise under the HPPA and Ontario Food Premises Regulation (O.Reg 493/17)
  • Providing online disclosure of food safety inspections
  • Assisting child care centres with the licensing process
  • Investigating and managing disease outbreaks in child care centres
  • Ensuring immunization records of attendees and staff are up to date
  • Providing child care centre operators and staff with education and resources for the prevention and control of communicable diseases
  • Assisting child care centre operators in developing policies and procedures to reduce the risk of illness among children and staff

Toronto Children Services

Toronto Children Services is responsible for planning and managing a broad range of child care services, including fee subsidy, wage subsidy, family resource centres, special needs resourcing, and summer day camps. Toronto Children’s Services also conducts Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI) inspections of child care centres under service contracts to the City of Toronto for fee subsidy.

Ontario Ministry of Education

The Ontario Ministry of Education oversees the licensing of child care centres, enforcement of the Child Care and Early Years Act, and provides resources to build high-quality, inclusive, and positive learning environments for children.