Operating a Child Care Business

Operating a licensed child care centre or licensed home-based child care agency

Know the requirement and regulations
The Ministry of Education licenses and monitors early learning and child care in Ontario. To apply for and maintain a license, you must follow the requirements and regulations under the Child Care and Early Years Act. If you plan to build or renovate a child care centre, you will need to follow the Ministry's planning and design guidelines.
Funding and service contracts
The City of Brantford administers Child Care Fee Subsidy and Operating Grants for licensed child care centres. For more information, please contact the Children's Services and Early Years program department.
Information for Operators

Wage enhancement grant

The City of Brantford administers Wage Enhancement funding on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

This funding supports wages for child care professionals working in licensed child care settings.

The Wage Enhancement/Home Child Care Enhancement Grants (HCCEG)funding is available for:

  • Program staff working in licensed child care programs
  • Home visitors and providers working with a licensed home child care agency

How to apply

Operators should review the Guidelines: Wage Enhancement/Home Child Care Enhancement Grants (HCCEG). In order to be eligible for funding, operators must complete the wage enhancement funding application available from Child Care Admin or call us.

Early Childhood Education Qualifications Upgrade Program

The ministry funds the Early Childhood Education Qualifications Upgrade Program (ECE QUP) which supports individuals working within the early years sector who have been accepted to an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology program to pursue their Early Childhood Education (ECE) diploma and become eligible to apply for membership with the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE). Support is provided through education grants, travel grants and training allowances. For more information on the ECE QUP, please visit the program’s website at: ecegrants.on.ca/qualifications-upgrade   

Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care

Increase in RECE Wages

Ontario has entered into a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement that will increase RECE wages to the annual wage floor of $18.00 / hr for RECE and $20.00/ hr for RECE Supervisors and RECE Home Visitors retroactively to April 1, 2022 and by an additional $1.00 / hr each year until 2026 or until the RECE reaches $25.00 /hr.

Hourly Wage Floor 2022 to 2026

 

Apr 2022

Jan 2023

Jan 2024

Jan 2025

Jan 2026

RECE

$18.00

$19.00

$20.00

$21.00

$22.00

RECE Child Care Supervisors /

RECE Home Child Care Visitors

$20.00

$21.00

$22.00

$23.00

$24.00

Service System Plan

The Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA) requires service system managers to establish a child care and early years program and service plan for their service area that addresses matters of provincial interest under the Act. 

Service system planning provides us with an opportunity to explore and gather information about our community’s needs, analyze the impact of programs and services, identify progress and service gaps and develop key areas for action.

Locally, Building Our Community from the Kids Up: 10 Year Plan for Child Care and Early Years was developed in 2022 and is updated annually. View the Building Our Community from the Kids Up 2023 Status Report.