Centre-based
Full-time	7,479
Part-day	3,515

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Children with special needs in regulated child care

164

 

SUBSIDIES

Children receiving subsidies (1998)	2,225
Percentage of children in regulated child care receiving subsidies	20%

 

SPONSORSHIP OF REGULATED CENTRE SPACES

	Full-time	Part-time	Total
Non-profit	4,229	2,030	6,259
For-profit	3,250	1,485	4,735

Maximum centre size	60 spaces
(recommended but not mandatory)

Staff qualification requirements Centre director and two-thirds of the staff must have either a 1- or 2-year early childhood education certificate or diploma or 2 years experience, one course and a 35 hour workshop on child development and curriculum. All staff must have first-aid training.

Parent involvement Parent meetings must be held at least every 3 months for full-day programs and every 6 months for part-time programs.

Licensing, monitoring and enforcement   Initial inspections are conducted by provincial Prevention and Child Care Services staff. Most staff in regional offices who have generic caseloads are responsible for child care centre annual inspections. Regional staff are not required to have a background in early childhood education but are provided with early childhood education training annually.

Licenses can be issued for up to 24 months at a time for part-day programs, annually for full-time.

If a centre is in non-compliance with the Act or Regulations, a license with conditions is issued for a specified time period. If the centre fails to meet the legislative requirements in this period, the Act authorizes the Minister to cancel the license and if the program continues to operate, it is open to prosecution for violation of the Act. The legislation allows for an appeal to the Minister if a license is suspended or cancelled.

REGULATED FAMILY DAY CARE

Regulation  Family day care providers are supervised by licensed agencies.

Maximum capacity  Up to six children of mixed ages, including the caregiver's own preschool children, or up to eight school-age children, including the caregiver's own school-age children.

Provider qualification requirements  Providers must be at least 18 years, not on the Child Abuse Registry, and cleared of having a criminal record by the RCMP or local police. No early childhood training or experience is required by the province.

Licensing, monitoring and enforcement  A licensed family day care agency staff must have ECE qualifications as per the provincial regulations. The agency is responsible for recruiting, screening and selecting caregivers, and for approving and monitoring homes. Provincial staff conduct annual visits and evaluations of agencies to check for adherence to provincial guidelines for day care homes.