Yellowknife — April 12, 2022
R.J. Simpson, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, issued the following statement on the early implementation of the new Child Care Fee Reduction (CCFR) Subsidy:
“Earlier this year, in an effort to get more money into the pockets of NWT families ahead of schedule, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) announced the new Child Care Fee Reduction (CCFR) Subsidy to reduce the cost of child care by 50 per cent on average, retroactive to January 1, 2022. Families in the NWT who paid child care fees between January 1 and March 31, 2022, will receive a refund if those fees were paid to a licensed child care provider that has opted in to the CCFR program by April 15, 2022.
“The department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) has been working with licensed early learning and child care providers across the NWT with the goal of ensuring that every eligible family in the NWT benefits from this program. According to the terms of our funding agreement with the Government of Canada, if providers do not opt in by April 15th, families whose children attended those programs are not eligible to receive the refunds associated with retroactive fee reductions. Many child care providers have already opted in and we continue to reach out to providers who have not yet done so. For programs that opt in to the CCFR Subsidy after the deadline, families will see a reduction in fees moving forward starting April 1, 2022.
“Implementing this benefit is the beginning of a system-wide change that will see the eventual transformation of the NWT’s child care system, as outlined in the 2030 Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Strategy and Canada-wide ELCC Agreement and Action Plan.
“As with any systemic change, there will be some bumps along the way. The GNWT is taking note of the challenges and the concerns that have been raised as we work with programs to move quickly and pass savings on to NWT families. We recognize that, in our attempt to give families access to retroactive fee refunds, we have had to move quickly and that some providers continue to have reservations and concerns about the changes.
“Some child care providers have expressed the concern that in order to sign up for the CCFR subsidy and provide refunds to parents, they are being asked to not raise their rates by more than 2.3 per cent this year. We need to ensure that our partnerships with child care centres and family day home operators remain strong and that child care providers are financially stable, so we are learning from this process and will adjust our future actions as necessary. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate recent fee increases, many in the range of 25 to 40 percent, that have been announced by some child care providers since the announcement of the CCFR subsidy. It is our hope that we can work with these providers to better understand their financial needs and come to an arrangement that helps ensure families receive the benefits of the CCFR.
“ECE is also taking steps to integrate its funding programs as it works to transform this system. Each of ECE’s funding streams work together to support early learning and child care programs, families, and young children. Together, the funding streams provide an inter-connected approach to support affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and quality.
“As such, ECE is integrating early learning and child care funding, including the CCFR Subsidy, the Early Childhood Program (ECP) operating subsidy, and a retention incentive currently being developed beginning this fiscal year. Under the renewed structure, to be eligible for ECP funding, a program must also participate in the CCFR Subsidy. These changes take effect this month. For programs that have opted in to the CCFR Subsidy, there will be no change in current funding. The department will be working with program providers to answer any questions.
“While the GNWT assists licensed programs including family day homes with a number of financial supports (including the ECP Subsidy, which provides up to $49 per day per child to program providers), the CCFR Subsidy is intended to benefit families and is a first step towards the development of an NWT-wide affordable, accessible and inclusive early learning and child care system.
“All early learning and child care programs play a vital role in the health and well being of young children and families and we value their partnership and dedication to NWT children. As we continue to implement the 2030 ELCC Strategy and federal agreements in the coming years, we will continue to look at different ways to support operators and we ask for their patience and cooperation while we take this initial step to lower costs for families.”
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