1970s Child care centres were established under federal Local Initiatives Project grants.

1974 Enactment of the Day Care Act which included 40 staffing, health and safety, and administration regulations. It also provided for a fee subsidy program for eligible low-income families. The Act authorized the Department of Social Services to license child care centres and administer fee subsidies.

1980 The Family Service Act included child care services, viewing them as a child development service.

1982 One year training program for child care workers was established.

1983 Day Care Regulation 83-85 was enacted and the Day Care Facilities Standards were developed.

1989 A Minister of State for Childhood Services and the Office for Childhood Services were established.

1991 Playing for keeps: Improving our children’s quality of life, a policy framework for children’s services in New Brunswick was released.
Kindergarten programs were introduced as part of the public school system. Kindergarten programs operating within child care centres are no longer covered by child care legislation or the Office for Childhood Services. They are considered to be similar to private schools.

1992 In September, the provincial government announced the Early Childhood Initiatives, designed to provide targeted services to foster the healthy growth and development of priority children and their families and to enhance family self-sufficiency.

The MicMac-Maliseet Child Care Council was established to address First Nations centre-based child care quality issues.

1993 The provincial government established a working group on child care to study the issues of staff training, wage enhancement, and standards. The provincial government initiated a review process and established a Child Care Review Committee with representation from the Early Childhood Coalition (Petite Enfance, Garde de Jour) NB Day Care Association, Departments of Health and Community Services, Income Assistance, Advanced Education and Labour, and the Executive Council.

1994 In March, A policy framework for child care services in New Brunswick was released. The report outlined three areas of discussion: quality, affordability and accessibility and provided an agenda for change in child care service delivery.

New directions: child care reforms was released in response to the report of the Child Care Review Committee. The province established several working groups to make recommendations.

Operating and professional development grants to day care centres were reduced to 50%. Workplace start-up grants were eliminated.

The provincial government released New directions: child care reforms. It outlined changes to regulated child care. It identified four directions for change: “improving quality, addressing the lack of affordable, accessible child care as a
barrier to employment; forging partnerships for better child care; monitoring the implementation of the changes.”

Quality issues were to be addressed through promotion of parent awareness, strengthening regulations, implementing minimum training requirements, and enhancing community college early childhood training. A new pamphlet and a bookmark for parents was developed, the legislation was reviewed. A new early childhood curriculum was launched.

With regard to "improving affordability", recurring grants were eliminated and fees increased. Subsidy eligibility levels went up (from $11,000 annual family income to $15,000 annual family income). Subsidy rates were increased. The number of children accessing subsidy increased from 1,363 in 1995 to 1,568 in 1998. A majority of the children accessing subsidies were welfare recipients. There was a 30% vacancy rate in centres.

A plan for monitoring was developed, and the Annual Day Care Survey was enhanced.

Since 1994, student parents have been required to take subsidies as part of student loans, and repay them.