2024-2028 Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (SSP)
The City of Ottawa is seeking feedback from families with children 0-12 years or those expecting to in the next 9 months. This feedback will be used to help develop the 2024-2028 Service System Plan (SSP) which is a road map that will ensure we are responding to local needs and strengthening the local child care and early years system to ensure children get the best start in life.
The City is asking interested families and residents to provide their feedback by completing a survey which will remain open until April 10, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
What role does the City of Ottawa play in Child Care and Early Years (CCEY)?
Through the Province, the City of Ottawa is identified as the Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM) for the licensed child care and early years sector in the city. Through the Children’s Services Service Area (within the City’s Community and Social Services Department), the City is responsible for the planning and management of licensed child care and early years programs and services for children from 0 to 12 years old in Ottawa. This includes:
Setting a strategic roadmap to ensure services are responsive to the needs of families.
Supporting child care and early years service providers in licensed centres, homes and schools.
Administering the child care fee subsidy program.
Managing the Child Care Registry and Waitlist.
Implementing the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Program.
Planning and implementing child care and early years programs and services.
Supporting Ottawa EarlyON Child and Family Centres to offer free, high-quality programs for families and children from birth to 6 years old.
What is the Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan?
The Service System Plan (SSP) establishes the foundation and road map for building a system of early learning and child care services in Ottawa that focuses on increased access, affordability, quality and inclusion (formerly referred to as “responsiveness”). The plan acts as a guide to identify priorities, actions, and system improvements benefiting children and families and responding to local needs across the city of Ottawa.
Why is the City reviewing the Plan now?
The previous SSP was approved by City Council for 2019-2023 and is now being updated for 2024-2028, as required by the Province. These updates are important to ensure we are responding to local needs and strengthening the local child care and early years system to ensure children get the best start in life.
Since the approval of the 2019-2023 plan, the Province has updated their guiding priorities to include a fifth element: Data and Reporting. This will help ensure that CMSMs’ work is guided by evidence-based decisions. The Province has also renamed Responsiveness to Inclusion to better reflect the goals.
What is the Canada Wide and Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program?
The Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care program (often referred to as CWELCC or the National Child Care system) is a Federal Government plan, to which the Province of Ontario has signed on to, to reduce the cost of child care to an average of $10 per day for eligible families by 2026. More information can be found here.
Will the Service System Plan help families access CWELCC child care spaces in their community?
The SSP is a guiding document that identifies actions to enhance the early years and child care system in Ottawa. This includes SSP strategic priorities that are data driven and evidence-based and an equity and inclusion lens helps inform our operational strategies. The Province has provided a limited number of new CWELCC-funded spaces available for Ottawa between now and 2026. In response, Children’s Services has created a directed growth strategy that is in line with the Provincial Access and Inclusion Framework.
While the Province is ultimately responsible for the allocation of CWELCC-funded spaces, the SSP helps determine what our local priorities are and how we can achieve them within the Provincial funding and guidance frameworks. Staff are working to create 2,903 additional spaces in Ottawa by 2026 and prioritizing supports to communities and populations most in need and that face various systemic
barriers.
Who sets the pillars for CCEY and the SSP?
Under the Child Care and Early Years Act, the Province requires an SSP. Provincial legislation also mandates the funding for CMSMs and the guidelines for how it can be allocated and spent. Within the funding formula provided by the Province, the City can set local priorities to ensure we’re responding to the needs of families and the sector at a local level.
Did the COVID-19 Pandemic effect the implementation of the 2019-2023 SSP?
Like all areas, the pandemic had large impacts on the child care and early years sector and the City was required to shift focus to the most urgent needs as described in the pandemic impacts report to Council in June 2021. While some of the strategic priorities defined in the Service System Plan needed to adapt to ensure the continued viability and sustainability of the sector, actions were successfully accomplished, and extensive supports were provided to the sector and to families.
How will the City be engaging with the community?
Children’s Services began SSP engagement activities with the child care and early years sector in the fall of 2023. This included:
Facilitated discussions with CCEY providers.
Launch of an Engage Ottawa website.
The work to engage on the SSP development will continue throughout Q1 and Q2 of 2024 and will include surveys, focus groups, focused media campaigns, and planning sessions with the CCEY System Planning Advisory Group, Indigenous Early Years Circle and Table Francophone.
More information on the timeline for the review can be found here.
How can families or service providers provide their feedback?
Children’s Services has launched a project website where families and the public can learn moreabout the Service System Plan. This page will provide details on how the review will be completed and how feedback will be collected.
The project surveys will remain open until April 10, 2024. Child care and early years providers are also invited to provide their feedback and can reach out to childrensservices@ottawa.ca.
How do I know what child care and early years programs are available in my ward?
Licensed centres or home providers can be reviewed using the City’s Child Care Registry and Waitlist. The Ottawa Child Care Registry and Waitlist is an online tool that:
Shows home-based care, centre-based care, school care and or nursery/pre-school care.
Allows families to apply for full fee (Registry) or fee subsidy (Waitlist) by completing just one application.
Provides the list of providers that are participating in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System.
How does Children’s Services ensure that an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion lens is applied to the SSP?
An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) lens has been embedded in all aspects of the 2024-2028 Service System Plan development. This includes data collection, engagement planning and implementation, data analysis, and identifying actions to address disparities related to access and inclusion in child care and early years programs and services.
The Children’s Services team is committed to applying an equity lens to the products and processes related to the SSP
development