On April 1 the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will launch a two-year pilot project to support the start up and operation of licensed family day homes in public housing units.

The pilot project, led by Housing NWT and the department of Education, Culture and Employment, is focused on non-market housing communities where no licensed early learning and child care programs currently exist. Non-market communities are those that do not have private rental options.

Communities participating in the pilot:

• Fort McPherson
• Colville Lake
• Fort Liard
• Wrigley
• Sambaa K’e
• Nahanni Butte
• Jean Marie River
• Dettah
• Lutselk’e

Access to child care spaces continues to be a challenge in the NWT, as well as across Canada. By amending public housing procedures to allow the operation of licensed family day homes in public housing in select non-market communities, the GNWT is working to increase access to child care for families across the territory.

Changes will be made to lease agreements for public housing units operating as licensed family day homes. Licensed family day homes that participate in the pilot will be able to continue operating once the pilot is complete.

Before starting a licensed family day home, public housing clients are encouraged to review the Public Housing Rent Rate Fact Sheet and reach out to their Local Housing Organization to assess how this may impact their monthly public housing rent calculation.

To learn more about starting and operating a licensed family day home, visit www.ece.gov.nt.ca/start-a-licensed-family-day-home, or contact the Early Childhood Consultant in your region.

Quote(s)

“The launch of this pilot program is a testament to the important role that interdepartmental collaboration plays in addressing the territory’s unique challenges. By providing residents living in public housing with the opportunity to operate licensed family day homes, we are not only supporting families by increasing the number of child care spaces, but we are also supporting residents in building businesses and becoming entrepreneurs. “

• Paulie Chinna, Minister of Housing NWT

“Increasing access to early learning and child care programming helps more families participate in the workforce and achieve greater economic security while contributing to improved developmental outcomes for children. This pilot project is an example of the importance of thinking outside the box when it comes to finding solutions that tailor to the unique needs of our communities.  The GNWT remains committed to supporting the creation and sustainability of licensed programs and is working to create at least 300 new licensed early learning and child care spaces by 2025-2026.”

• R.J. Simpson, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

Quick facts

• Public Housing Rent is calculated annually on a household’s gross income for the prior year as reported to the Canada Revenue Agency. The pilot project is focused on non-market communities where no licensed programs currently exist for children from birth to age three.
• The income that a public housing tenant makes from a licensed family day home may affect how their rent is calculated for their public housing unit.
• This work supports ECE’s 2030 Early Learning and Child Care Strategy, the NWT’s Early Learning and Child Care Canada-wide 2021-2022 to 2022-2023 Action Plan, and Housing NWT’s Renewal Strategy.

Related links

• Housing NWT
• Starting and operating a family day home
• Starting a licensed family day home in public housing in non-market communities Information Sheet

For media requests, please contact:

Department of Education, Culture and Employment

Government of the Northwest Territories

ecepublicaffairs@gov.nt.ca