Thirty-five child care programs in Toronto approved to provide emergency child care for essential workers

As part of the current lockdown measures imposed by the Province of Ontario, school-aged children in publicly-funded elementary schools will participate in remote learning from January 4 to 8, 2021. During this period, emergency child care services will be available, at no cost, for designated essential service providers who are not able to accommodate their school-aged child’s learning or care at home.

The list of Provincially-approved child care centres and agencies in Toronto is now available at https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-latest-city-of-toronto-news/affected-city-services/covid-19-emergency-child-care-for-essential-workers/.

Thirty-five child care programs located in Toronto have been approved by the Province to provide emergency child care during this period: three City-operated child care centres and the City’s Toronto Home Child Care Agency, and 31 licensed community-based child care programs. These emergency child care programs will adhere to all requirements set out in the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 and all current Ministry of Education and Toronto Public Health guidance.

A complete list of workers eligible for emergency child care is available at www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-provincewide-shutdown#B. Workers who meet these requirements may contact an emergency child care provider directly to register their child(ren) for care. The emergency child care will be fully funded by the Province.

From January 4 to 8, 2021:
•       child care programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers will operate as usual
•       home child care programs are permitted to provide child care to kindergarten and school-aged children
•       there will be no regular child care programs for kindergarten and school-aged children operating in child care centres
•       child care providers not operating during this period are prohibited from charging fees during this time and parents will not lose their child care space(s).

The City’s website is updated daily with the latest health advice and information about City services, social supports and economic recovery measures. Check www.toronto.ca/covid-19/ for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.

Quote:

“We know how hard our frontline and essential workers are working during the pandemic, and we know we need to help support them through these challenging times. The City has provided emergency child care to essential workers from almost the very beginning of this pandemic. I encourage Toronto residents who are essential workers and who find themselves without child care for their school-aged children to see whether they are eligible for this service.”
– Mayor John Tory

SOURCE: City of Toronto