How Should Alberta Fund $10-a-Day Child Care?

Official title: Early Learning and Child Care Funding Formula Approach Engagement

Closed Policy & Studies Economy & Jobs Education
Alberta asked child care operators how to fund the transition to $10-a-day daycare. The province is shifting from parent-paid fees to government funding. This consultation gathered input on the funding formula that will support operators while keeping fees low.

Why This Matters

Have young kids or planning to? This affects what you'll pay for daycare. Alberta's aiming for $10-a-day fees by 2025-26. The funding formula determines whether your local daycare can stay open and keep quality high while charging less.

What Could Change

A new funding formula will replace parent fees with government subsidies for child care operators. This should create thousands of new licensed spaces across Alberta. Operators will receive direct funding to maintain quality while charging families an average of $10 per day.

Key Issues

  • How should the funding formula be structured to support child care operators?
  • How can the transition maintain high-quality care while reducing parent fees?
  • How should the Cost Control Framework be implemented?

How to Participate

  1. This consultation has closed. Online submissions were accepted from November 2 to December 8, 2023.
  2. Learn more about the Cost Control Framework and the Federal-provincial child care agreement.

What Happened

Feedback from child care associations, advocacy groups, licensed facility-based operators, family day home agencies, and educators was collected through online submissions and in-person/virtual workshops. This input helped develop a new Early Learning and Child Care funding formula to ensure high-quality child care options remain available for Alberta families.