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

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.

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

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

Then send your most recent Notice of Assessment or Canada Child Benefit Notice within 60 days or the application will be declined. Please send via:

• Email: feesubsidywaitlist@york.ca
• Fax: 905-895-8377
• Drop off at one of York Region’s Office locations:
  • Georgina: 24262 Woodbine Avenue, Georgina, Ontario, L4P 3E9
  • Newmarket: 17310 Yonge Street, Unit 9, Newmarket, Ontario, L3Y 7S1
  • Richmond Hill: 50 High Tech Road, Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 4N7
  • Vaughan: 9060 Jane Street, Vaughan, Ontario, L4K 0G5
  • Markham: 9275 Markham Road, Markham, Ontario L6E 1A2

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

How long will you wait for an eligibility meeting?

• Once your application and documents are received, you will be placed on a fee subsidy waitlist
• The length of time you are on the waitlist depends on how many people are ahead of you
• This is a first-come-first-served program and priority is given to:
• Families with a net income of $36,000 or less
• Families who meet priority consideration criteria such as when the health and well-being of a child is at risk
• When your name reaches the top of the list, you will be contacted to schedule an eligibility meeting
• 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

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.

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

What to bring to the meeting

• Required documents to determine eligibility
  
• If you are self-employed, please provide the additional documents included in the verification of self-employment
  

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

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