AECEO response to Ontario's new child care funding approach
Early childhood educators, child care workers, and child care programs in Ontario have been waiting for an updated child care funding formula since May 2022. The outdated funding formula has led to instability and challenges across the sector:
- for educators, facing low wages and a lack of decent work;
- for families, facing long waitlists, driven by the workforce crisis;
- and for operators, facing financial instability and challenges retaining and recruiting qualified staff.
The funding formula (also referred to as funding approach) is created by the Provincial Government to set out guidelines for how funding flows to child care programs. The funding formula matters to us all because it impacts everyone involved the sector: staff, operators, children and families because it influences all elements of child care programs, from programming costs to staff wages. While we are still working through the details, one thing is clear: early childhood educators and child care workers continue to be left behind.
The new funding formula does not commit to a publicly-funded salary scale of at least $30-40/hour for ECEs and $25/hour for non-ECE staff. Decent work and compensation need to be the foundation of a funding formula: providing and expanding quality licensed child care in Ontario depends on a well-supported, well-compensated workforce.
What happens next?
Over the next few weeks, the AECEO will conduct a detailed review of the new funding approach in order to fully understand how it will impact educators and programs. We invite you to learn more about this topic with our publication from last May: Policy Brief 2 - Ontario Child Care Funding Formula, by Dr Gordon Cleveland.
In September, we will be holding info sessions to share what we learn with the early learning and child care community. See details below and sign up for an info session today!
- Operators, board members and community organization leaders, join us on Wednesday, September 11th at 12PM. Register here!
- Educators, child care workers, ECE students, join us on Thursday, September 19th at 7PM. Register here!
In the meantime, we want to hear from you: share your thoughts, questions and concerns about the new child care funding approach via this form
Stay tuned to the AECEO social media and email updates, where we will continue to share information and resources as we learn more about the new funding formula.