Child Care Fee Subsidy

York Region helps make child care more affordable for families with low and moderate income, by offering a Child Care Fee Subsidy that reduces the amount of money that families have to pay licensed child care providers to care for their child(ren) under the age of 13. This is a first-come-first-served program.

Fee subsidy is available to support the cost of full-day care for infants, toddlers and preschool-age children. Families with school-age children (ages 3.8 to 12) are eligible for fee subsidy to support the cost of before and/or after-school care on instructional days and full-day care during PA days and school breaks, where children are enrolled year-round.

Priority is given to:

  • Families who meet priority consideration criteria such as when the health and well-being of a child is at risk
  • Have income at or below the limits listed below:

Family Size

Income Limit

2 persons

$36,000

3 persons

$44,000

4 persons

$51,000

5 persons

$57,000

6 persons

$62,500

7 persons

$67,500

Child Care Fee Subsidy Application Process

  1. Find out who can apply by reading the eligibility requirements for Child Care Fee Subsidy. If you are receiving Ontario Works, contact your caseworker for more information about Child Care Fee Subsidy or Access York by phone at 1-877-464-9675 or TTY: 1-866-512-6228 (for deaf and hard of hearing), or email @email. Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Statutory Holidays
  2. Use the Child Care Fee Subsidy calculator to see if you are eligible to apply based on your income
  3. To apply for Child Care Fee Subsidy, you will need to create an account on the Children’s Services Portal. If you require assistance with setting up your account, please use this tip sheet. If you are reapplying, and have previously applied through the online application and created a Children’s Services Portal account, you will need to contact Access York to begin your reapplication.

    Please note: Existing clients can set up their Children's Services account through the Children's Services Portal; please see the tip sheet above for assistance.
  4. Once your account is set up, you will need to inform your Children’s Services Representative by phone or email. Then you can communicate directly with your Children’s Services Representative using the Two-Way Messaging feature on the portal.
  5. New (and existing clients who have a Children’s Services account) can upload required Fee Subsidy documents using the Children’s Services portal upload documents feature.
  6. Once the application and required documents are received, you will be placed on a fee subsidy waitlist*
  7. Use the Early Years Program Finder to search for licensed child care and contact the provider(s)
  8. Once your name reaches the top of the list, you will be contacted for an eligibility meeting
  9. If eligibility criteria are met, you will be approved for fee subsidy and informed of the amount to pay the provider
  10. To maintain your fee subsidy, you must follow the guidelines in the Parent Agreement including participating in an annual review

* Wait times for Child Care Fee Subsidy vary and are based on the date the application was received, next available appointment for eligibility meeting, priority status and funding availability.

Please review the Questions and Answers Guide for Child Care Fee Subsidy for more information about the application process.

Who can apply

Families must:

  • Live in York Region
  • Have children younger than 13 years of age
  • File their income tax return every year
  • Meet financial eligibility requirements of the provincial income test

Parents/caregivers must have a need for child care due to:

  • Being employed
  • Attending an educational or training program
  • Having an exceptional circumstance (in child or parent) such as a physical or social/emotional need that requires the child to be in child care

Who is not eligible:

  • Tourists, visitors and persons under an active deportation order, exclusion order, or warrant for arrest
  • Temporary residents with a valid work visa/permit who do not intend to apply for permanent resident status
  • Temporary residents with a student visa/permit
How to apply

Child Care Fee Subsidy Calculator

The daily child care cost for a family receiving fee subsidy is based on net family income, the age of the child(ren) and the number of days of care. The following chart shows what a family receiving subsidy could pay for licensed child care under the provincial income test.

Net Family Income

$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000

Daily Child Care Fee for Parents

$0.00
$4.00
$8.00
$19.00
$31.00
$42.00

Use the Child Care Fee Subsidy Calculator to find out if you may be eligible based on your income.

Calculator

Online Application Form*

Complete the online application form if you are eligible based on your income.
* If you are receiving Ontario Works, contact your caseworker for more information about Child Care Fee Subsidy or call the KIDS Line

Apply

Then upload your most recent Notice of Assessment or Canada Child Benefit Notice to the portal within 60 days or the application will be declined.

Other ways to apply

  • Call KIDS Line at 1-888-703-KIDS (5437) between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday
Finding child care

While you are waiting for your eligibility meeting, use the Early Years Program Finder to search for licensed child care programs near you  and contact the child care programs that you are interested in to find out if they will meet your child care needs. The Early Years Program Finder identifies programs that accept fee subsidy.

 

Early Years Program Finder

York Region works with licensed home child care agencies and provides funding to support quality licensed early learning and child care programs. Licensed home child care agencies may not be listed in the finder tool as the agency address may differ from where home providers are located. Please visit the agencies’ websites below to learn more about what they offer families:

  1. Better Than Home
  2. Circles in the Sun
  3. Daycare Consulting Services Inc.
  4. Family Day Care Services
  5. Hand-in-Hand Home Child Care Services Inc.
  6. Happy Kids Family Daycare Agency
  7. Hopscotch Home Daycare Agency
  8. L’Agence Francophone de Garderie Familiale
  9. Learning Happens Child Care Inc.
  10. Magic Tree Childcare Inc
  11. Wee Watch – Quality Licensed Home Child Care
    1. Aurora Day Care Services Inc. (Aurora/King)
    2. Main Street Day Care Services Inc. (Newmarket)
    3. Terrace Woods Day Care Services Inc. (Vaughan)
    4. The York Region Day Care Hotline Inc. (Markham/Stouffville/Unionville)
    5. Trothen Circle Day Care Services Inc. (Richmond Hill/Thornhill)
  12. York Professional Care and Education Inc.

For more information about selecting quality child care in a centre-based or home-based program, read our resource packages.

Selecting Quality Child Care in a Centre-Based Program

Selecting Quality Child Care in a Home-Based Program​​​​​​

Eligibility meeting

What to bring to the meeting

Important: you must bring all required documents to your eligibility meeting. If documents are missing, your meeting may be rescheduled.

What to expect at the meeting

  • Your eligibility meeting will take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours
  • A Children’s Services Representative will assess financial eligibility using the provincial income test, collect required documents and review the parent agreement
  • If all eligibility criteria are met using the provincial income test and review of documents, you will be informed of your eligibility for Child Care Fee Subsidy at the meeting
  • You will also find out how much York Region will pay directly to the child care provider and how much you will be required to pay
  • A translator is available if needed
Maintaining subsidy

Your responsibilities

To maintain your Child Care Fee Subsidy, you must follow the guidelines in the Parent Agreement, including:

  • Paying your parent fee to the child care program (if applicable)
  • Reporting changes to York Region immediately (examples include changes to marital status, employment/education, address, phone number, birth of a new child, leaving Canada for an extended period of time)
  • Responding to all requests for information by the deadline including submission of documents related to your annual eligibility review. You will be notified of your annual eligibility review and the steps required to maintain your eligibility
  • File your income tax return on time every year

How to appeal decisions

  • You have the right to appeal decisions related to Child Care Fee Subsidy
  • Submit the review appeal request form within 15 business days of receiving the decision
  • You will be informed about the decision after a review of the file

Subscribe to Family Matters E-newsletter!

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A Child Care Services quarterly publication for families receiving Child Care Fee Subsidy in York Region. This quarterly publication will provide important updates for your family related to Child Care Fee Subsidy, as well as reminders, resources and parenting tips.

Related Resources

These forms can be downloaded, completed and saved on your computer.

External Resources