Supporting Agencies Roles & Responsibilities

Child care centres receive support at both the provincial and municipal levels to meet the requirements of applicable legislation. With respect to infection, prevention and control, local boards of health work cooperatively with child care owners/operators and agencies such as the Ministry of Education to ensure that child care centres implement necessary infection prevention and control practices. Below are some of the agencies that support child care in the City of Toronto.

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

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). Some responsibilities include:

  • conducting annual infection prevention and control (IPAC) inspections at all licenced child care settings in Toronto
  • conducting food safety inspections at child care centres that meet the definition of a food premise under the HPPA
  • providing online disclosure of food safety inspections and IPAC inspection results
  • investigating and managing disease outbreaks in child care settings
  • ensuring immunization records of attendees and staff are complete
  • 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 strategies and policies to reduce the risk of illness among attendees and staff

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 inspections of child care centres under service contracts to the City of Toronto for fee subsidy.