Overview of all changes to the Child Day Care Regulations effective May 1, 2023

Below is an overview of all the changes that come into effect on May 1, 2023 under the Child Day Care Act (Act) and Regulations.

This includes amendments to the existing Early Learning and Child Care Standards Regulations and the new Early Learning and Child Care Funding Regulations.

  • The Standards Regulations set out the minimum standards that must be met by a licensed early learning and child care program (licensed program) to ensure the safety, well-being, and developmental needs of children are met, as well as updated demographic reporting requirements for new programs and cost control measures, like maximum fees.
  • The Funding Regulations set out the mechanisms for how funds are allocated to licensed programs along with related financial reporting requirements and restrictions on child care fee increases.
Change  What this means
Establishing cost control measures in regulations and streamlining Child Care Fee Reduction (CCFR) subsidy funding 

With the revisions to the regulations, there will no longer be a contribution agreement for the CCFR subsidy. Eligible programs will continue to submit monthly paperwork and receive funding. Changes to the regulations also allow the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to set limits on child care fees charged to families by licensed programs receiving government subsidies.

This is a change in how the funding is administered, i.e., through regulations. It is not a change to the CCFR subsidy itself.

Families will continue to receive the subsidy. There will be no changes for families accordingly.

Licensed early learning and child care programs will continue to submit monthly Appendix D.1s within the same timeframe for payment. The same terms and conditions of the contribution agreements continue to apply now as part of the regulations. 
Increasing reporting measures 

Changes to the regulations include requirements for licensed programs to report on demographics of children in their program and the diverse needs of these children, including children who have specific developmental needs, where possible. 

This will allow the GNWT to make more effective use of resources that support the inclusion and participation of children in licensed programs and support the development of a system where all children have access to child care spaces to meet their needs.   

Licensed program operators will be required to collect and report this information to the GNWT for each child that enrolls in their program, and to provide annual updates on this information. The GNWT will provide operators with a format to record and provide this information to reduce the time needed for operators to comply with these new requirements and streamline as much as possible. 
Updating language for consistency and introduction of terms for clarity

Updates to the language in the Act better define the types of programs that operate under the Act and clarify what types of programs are not required to comply. 

The use of gender-neutral language throughout ensures that the terms used in the Act remain aligned with how they are used in other legislation.
Changes to the regulations were made to align with those changes to the Act; for example, use of the term ‘early learning and child care facility’ to replace ‘child day care facility’.