Hoping for $10-a-day child care? Here’s how many Toronto daycares opted in to the federal program last year
An all-ages daycare in Toronto is doing so well, it’s attracting the federal child-care subsidy.
Last year, 758 of about 1,500 accredited daycares in the city of Toronto received the subsidy, which helps cover the full cost of care for children between the ages of six months and five years old.
They are on par with other accredited daycares in the city, according to a CBC report from last year. That number was up from 692 daycares in 2016, when the subsidy was first introduced.
For the record, the subsidy of $3,360 per child per year is available to only three providers in Toronto, namely the Alliance for Children and Families, the Association of Toronto Daycares and the Toronto Alliance for Women’s Rights. They have been offered an extension and a refund of the $2,000 subsidy amount, but they have declined.
The majority of daycares in the city that took part in the program are all-ages.
In fact, the first daycare in Toronto to take advantage of the subsidy was the Alliance for Children and Families last spring.
When asked about the subsidy, Alliance Daycare owner Melissa Zadravec, whose agency takes children from six months to five years old, told the Star she got an email informing her on March 25 that she had been offered the subsidy.
Zadravec said she was surprised.
“We are so grateful for this opportunity — to raise our kids to be happy and healthy,” she said. She said she did not intend to ever take advantage of the subsidy, as it is a gift, not a right.
The Alliance Daycares Association of Toronto and its members said the daycare did not opt in for the subsidy.
“At this time, Alliance Daycares is not accepting any federal funds through the Child Care and Early Years Program,” executive director Michael J. Smith told the Star in an email.
“At this time, Alliance Daycares is not accepting any federal funds through the Child Care and Early Years Program.” – Alliance for Children and Families
“We take the welfare of all children very seriously, and as a province we are a huge supporter of