Overview

We have successfully negotiated an agreement with the federal government to increase accessible, affordable and high-quality child care, giving families the choice they need. Starting in January 2022, this made-in-Alberta plan has helped to reduce fees for parents of children up to kindergarten-age by an average of half. By 2026, parents will pay an average of $10 per day.

We are helping Alberta families save money in 2 ways:

  1. providing affordability grants for child care operators to lower fees for all parents
  2. expanding child care subsidy eligibility to save parents earning up to $180,000 even more

This initiative is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Canada-Alberta Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

Accepting applications

  • Child care subsidy - Applications for subsidy for families of children up to kindergarten-age earning up to $180,000 are now open. Parents already receiving subsidy do not need to reapply.

Key features of the plan

  • Icon with gear and money symbol
    Investing in child care

    Through the agreement, $3.8 billion will be invested in child care for children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours):

    • $2.865 billion to lower child care fees for Alberta parents
    • $240.64 million to increase the number of child care spaces
    • $202.6 million to develop and fund child care options to support vulnerable and diverse populations, as well as children with extra needs
    • $306.16 million to support licensed programs and certified educators in offering high-quality support for families in their communities
  • Icon of a piggybank
    Improving affordability

    Parents of children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) will be paying, on average, $10 per day in child care fees by 2026.

    Over the course of the 5 year agreement, we will:

    • reduce licensed child care fees by an average of 50% for families with children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) (early 2022)
    • lower average licensed child care fees to $15 per day for families with children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) (by 2023-24)
    • lower average licensed child care fees to $10 per day for families with children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) (by 2025 to 2026)
    • increase support for parents, child care operators and staff
  • Icon of a family
    Expanding child care accessibility

    To ensure families can choose the child care that works best for them, we will:

    • create up to 68,700 new spaces by 2026 (42,500 non-profit and 26,200 for-profit)
    • support licensed child care – preschools, daycare and family day homes under a licensed agency
    • ensure flexibility for families requiring drop-in or overnight child care
    • support children with specific learning, linguistic, cultural and other needs
  • Icon of a hand holding a book
    Supporting high-quality child care

    Quality care starts with quality educators. The agreement provides funds for:

    • professional development, training and improved certification levels for our early childhood educator workforce
    • continued wage top-ups for child care educators – among the highest in Canada

What this means for parents

We will give grants to child care providers that will lower fees for all parents. And families who make less than $180,000 will be eligible for an additional subsidy to further reduce their child care costs.

The amount that you will save will vary depending on the fees your child care provider charges. However, grant-receiving providers must commit to helping Alberta ensure families reach an average of $10 per day by the end of 5 years.

Parent information

Additional details will be shared as programs are developed.

  • How fees will be reduced

    In step one of this 5-year plan, parents of children up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) had their child care fees reduced by an average of 50% in 2022. By 2025-26, parents will pay, on average, $10 a day per child.

    Fees will be reduced in 2 ways:

    • providing affordability grants to licensed preschools, daycares and family day homes under a licensed agency for operators to lower child care fees for all parents by a set amount
    • increasing family income thresholds for Child Care Subsidy eligibility criteria so more parents benefit:
      • full subsidy if gross household income is up to $119,999
      • partial subsidy if gross household income is from $120,000 to $179,999
      • preschool (part-time) flat rate of $125 per month for families earning up to $180,000

    Families are now benefiting from both affordability grants and subsidies and will pay less overall. How much less you pay will depend on the age of your child and your family income. The total amount you will pay will vary depending on the fees your child care provider charges.

    The combined benefits of affordability grants and subsidies should be considered when estimating your new costs.

  • Affordability grants

    Affordability grants are provided directly to child care operators so they can lower parent fees for all families in their program. Funding is provided for each child based on age range and type of care, up to a maximum amount based on the fees. Preschool programs have a set rate of $75 per month per child. Parents do not need to apply to benefit from this fee reduction.

    Child care typeInfant (under 19 months)Toddler (19 months to under 3 years)Preschool age (3 years to kindergarten)
    Daycare – full timeUp to $883Up to $709Up to $626
    Daycare – part timeUp to $317.50Up to $255Up to $225
    Daycare – overnight full timeUp to $1,324Up to $1,063Up to $938
    Daycare – overnight part timeUp to $476.25Up to $382.50Up to $337.50
    Family day home – full timeUp to $487Up to $452Up to $417
    Family day home – part timeUp to $175Up to $162.50Up to $150
    Family day home – overnight full timeUp to $730Up to $678Up to $626
    Family day home – overnight part timeUp to $262.50Up to $243.75Up to $225

  • Subsidy rates

    Parents with a family income under $180,000 a year will also benefit from subsidies to further reduce child care fees based on the income thresholds below.

    Applications for subsidy are now open.

    • If you already receive subsidy, you do not need to reapply.
    • If you are not currently receiving subsidy, your child is up to kindergarten-age (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours) and your family income is under $180,000 a year, you can apply now.

    Apply for the Child Care Subsidy

    Subsidy rates and eligibility criteria for children in kindergarten to Grade 6 enrolled in a licensed program outside of regular school hours are not changing.

    Income ($)Full-time rate
    (100+ hours)    		Licensed
    preschool rate
    0 to 119,999$266Flat rate of $125/month (all income brackets)
    120,000 to 124,999$253
    125,000 to 129,999$239
    $130,000 to $134,999$226
    $135,000 to $139,999$213
    $140,000 to $144,999$200
    $145,000 to $149,999$186
    $150,000 to $154,999$173
    $155,000 to $159,999$160
    $160,000 to $164,999$146
    $165,000 to $169,999$133
    $170,000 to $174,999$120
    $175,000 to $179,999$106

    Part time rates are prorated based on hours (80 hours = 80% of the full time rate)

  • Finding child care with reduced fees

    To find licensed child care in your community:

    Did you know? We are working to add up to 42,500 new non-profit and 26,200 private licensed child care spaces across Alberta over the next 4 years.

  • Additional information

    For more information, contact Child Care Connect at 1‑844‑644-5165 (toll free) or each out to your local Children's Services office.

Operator information

  • Affordability grants

    Grants

    • Affordability grants go directly to licensed operators and must be used to reduce parent fees.
      • Operators can use these grants to pay overhead costs and educator wages.
      • These grants are not to be used for capital improvements or dividends to investors.
    • Grant recipients must commit to working with the government to ensure fees for all families reach an average of $10 per day by the end of 5 years (2025-26).

    Eligibility

    • Licensed child care programs such as preschools, daycares and family day homes under licensed agencies that provide care to infants, toddlers and kindergarten age children (in kindergarten and also attending child care during regular school hours).
    • Operators are eligible for affordability supports for full-time (100+ hours per month) and part-time care spaces (between 50 and 100 hours per month).

    How grants are calculated

    • The affordability grant amount was calculated using average program fees across the province, per space per month, based on the type of child care and the age group.
    • Alberta determined the average child care fee for a licensed space across the province and calculated the necessary affordability grant required to reduce fees by an average of 50% for 2022.
    • Infant spaces (under 19 months) receive the highest grant rates given the low staff to child ratio and additional costs of operating spaces for this age group.
    • More information is available in the Affordability Grant Funding Guide

  • Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan

    As part of the Alberta Canada Early Learning and Child Care (ACELCC) Agreement, the Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan supports the growth of affordable child care spaces in licensed private programs while ensuring the sound and reasonable use of public funds by licensed child care providers.

    Learn more

  • Infant care and part-time care

    Infant care

    • On top of the affordability grant, operators will also receive infant care funding as a stand-alone grant of $150 per enrolled infant space per month.
    • Operators can use these funds flexibly to support infant care in their programs. The funding doesn’t need to flow through to parents.

    Part-time care

    • Operators are eligible for affordability supports for part-time care spaces (between 50 and 100 hours per month).

  • Creating new child care spaces

    Grant funding for new non-profit, private and family day home spaces

    • Applications for the Space Creation Grant are closed. Applications received prior to closure will continue to be processed as funding allows, with high-need and high-demand areas remaining the priority.

    Work is underway to develop a new program to encourage space creation for non-profit and public child care providers.

  • Become a family day home educator with a licensed agency

    Family day home educators who operate under an agreement with a licensed agency have access to training, resources and assistance. To find out how you can become a licensed family day home educator:

  • Workforce training and development

    Training and development

    This agreement includes more than $300 million to bolster professional development and training for certified early childhood educators.

    • This includes paid wages and wage top-ups for education and training, and/or pay to offset the costs to operators and increase staff’s ability to access training and professional development.
    • Funding will also be used to increase certification levels for early childhood educators.

    Through a separate funding agreement with the federal government, we are already directing about $56 million to support quality within licensed child care programs and help operators recruit, retrain and retain high quality staff. This includes:

    • $20.57 million for child care staff recovery and retention due to closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (provided in fall 2021)
    • $25.7 million for skills training and professional development (implemented in spring 2022)
    • $4.13 million to support wage top-ups for preschool educators (implemented September 1, 2021)

    To make it easier for Albertans to start a career in child care, we've increased enrolment capacity for the free level 1 child-care orientation from 4,000 to 10,000 spaces. The course is now available to all Albertans.

    Wage top-ups

    Alberta provides wage top-ups to certified early childhood educators to help programs recruit and retain the best educators. Approximately 18,500 early childhood educators receive wage top-ups.

    As of October 1, 2022, we've expanded the paid hours that are eligible for existing wage top-ups for front-line certified early childhood educators to include indirect time and employer-paid vacation time.

    Wage top-ups vary by early childhood educators' certification level:

    • Level 3: $8.62 per hour on top of their employer paid wage
    • Level 2: $5.05 per hour on top of their employer paid wage
    • Level 1: $2.64 per hour on top of their employer paid wage

    The agreement includes a commitment to explore the possibility of a wage grid and other benefit considerations over the course of the agreement.

  • Next steps and additional information

    We will seek operator feedback on several key pieces of the agreement over the next 4 years, including developing the workforce, creating spaces to address high and diverse needs, to inform implementation of the cost control framework and refining affordability supports for unique circumstances.

    Reach out to your local licensing officer or email [email protected] with questions or suggestions.

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