News & Stories: Newfoundland & Labrador

Excerpt: "The New Child Care Act includes: Replacing the former Child Care Services Act effective today (July 31); Improving safety and security standards for the well-being of our children at their most vulnerable stages; Clarifying and strengthening licensing exemptions; Removing the cap on the number of spaces per child care centre; Enhancing qualification expectations by requiring entry-level certification to become trainee certification, requiring early childhood educators to upgrade to a post-secondary one-year Early Childhood Education Certificate within a five-year period; Enhancing qualifications for administrators of infant-only family homes to include the requirement of a Level I certification with an infant classification; Ensuring child care providers have a secure building policy and enhanced physical space requirements to increase quality of care; and Committing to a mandatory five-year legislative review with public consultation to allow the opportunity for feedback."

Excerpt: "The agreement allocates just over $22 million, over three years, to Newfoundland and Labrador for early learning and child care investments. The funding will support the existing 10-year child care strategy Caring for Our Future: Provincial Strategy for Quality, Sufficient and Affordable Child Care in Newfoundland and Labrador 2012-2022 which will develop and implement innovative approaches to address early learning and child care challenges through subsidies, grants, bursaries and professional learning opportunities."

Excerpt: "The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, announced today that $6.5 million in Capital Renovation Grants has been allocated to 59 child care service providers. The grants are being provided through the $22 million three-year bi-lateral agreement with the Federal Government for early learning and child care investments."

Excerpt: "The capacity initiative provides developmental, capital and start-up funding to not-for-profit community groups who want to develop child care centres. Enhancements (including an innovative expansion to include family child care) will increase the number of regulated child care services particularly in underserviced areas, with a focus on rural communities, linguistic minority communities, and Indigenous communities. These enhancements will increase the grant available for non-profit organizations, which is anticipated to develop up to five new or expanded licensed child care centres with approximately 180 new spaces over three years."

Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, announced $10 million in federal support for Newfoundland and Labrador’s child care sector to help ensure that safe and sufficient child care spaces are available to support parents’ gradual return to work."

Excerpt: "Affordable and accessible child care, coupled with investments in education and skills development, is paramount in a modern economy. These investments, and collaboration with our education partners, will contribute to a stronger economy today and into the future. To help ease the financial pressures on families, especially on women, in Budget 2020 we are committed to $25 a day child care in 2021."

Excerpt: "The program will be delivered through the already established Operating Grant Program. Regulated child care services that participate in the program are provided a grant to offset the reduced fees they charge families. That grant amount will be increased to allow them to reduce their fees further and charge just $25 a day."

Excerpt: "Today the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Education, announced the allocation of the $10.2 million from the COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreement funding for child care operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. This Federal Government investment will support child care operators and Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) for their important roles in providing child care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic."

Excerpt: "The plan features targets to achieve several shared priorities between the Federal and Provincial Governments."

Excerpt: "With the upcoming reduction to $15 per day for families using regulated child care services under the Operating Grant Program (OGP), today the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Education, announced corresponding changes to the Child Care Subsidy net income threshold for all child care services. As well, Minister Osborne announced the elimination of parental contributions under that program to support lower-income families in accessing regulated child care at a reduced or no cost. This change will also result in the elimination of parental contribution for all eligible Child Care Subsidy clients and free child care for eligible families using a child care service participating in the Operating Grant Program."

Excerpt: "A Pre-Kindergarten pilot program will launch by September of this year that will create additional regulated child care spaces. At full implementation, the province-wide Pre-Kindergarten program will create approximately 3,100 regulated spaces for four-year olds by 2025-26, which will open up existing child care spaces for younger children."

Excerpt: "Infant, toddler and preschool spaces are limited across the province increasing demand for spaces. As of 2021, there are 5,498 regulated infant, toddler and preschool spaces. By working with municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations under the Child Care Capacity Program through work with the soon to be created Early Learning and Child Care Evaluation and Research Team, communities most in need of infant, toddler and preschool spaces will be identified."