Address barriers to accessing inclusive child care
Provide the early years workforce with training and professional development.
The agreement includes funding to create new CWELCC spaces between 2022 and 2025 and has recently been extended to March 2027.
In 2026, the federal and provincial governments are negotiating a longer-term extension of the CWELCC agreement beyond March 2027. Service System Managers, including Wellington County, have not received an update on the outcome of these discussions and it is unknown if parent fees will drop below the current capped rate of $22/day.
Not all licensed child care programmes are participating in CWELCC. If a licensed child care programme is not part of the CWELCC programme, families will continue to pay the full cost of child care services as determined by the child care programme.
Camps and recreation programmes serving children 6 to 12 years of age are ineligible to participate in CWELCC.
For child care programmes participating in CWELCC and for some programmes and camps for children 6 to 12 years of age, further fee reductions are available to families eligible for Fee Subsidy.
Operator Enrolment in CWELCC
**Wellington County has allocated all CWELCC spaces provided by the Ministry and is not currently accepting applications for CWELCC enrollment.**
CWELCC provides funding to licensed child care providers to reduce the child care fees paid by families.
As the Service System Manager, Wellington County Children’s Early Years Division was provided a maximum allocation for the number of licensed child care spaces that may be enrolled in the CWELCC system and is responsible for ensuring that new licensed programmes and/or new spaces for existing programmes created under the CWELCC system are consistent with the Directed Growth Plan.In 2026, no new CWELCC funding will be available to support the creation or expansion of new child care spaces.
The total number of child care spaces and access rates in Wellington-Guelph by age group and municipality are presented on the Data and Planning page: Data in the Early Years – Licensed Child Care Availability.
The County has maintained all applications received and will revisit them if spaces become available to reallocate (i.e. if an existing CWELCC programme closes). In 2026, the Children’s Early Years Division will prioritize programmes that:
Are in geographic regions with low access rates (based on the Directed Growth Plan)
Support the needs of priority populations.
Are child care centres with existing non-CWELCC spaces or centres that can be licensed for additional spaces with only minor operational adjustments.
Not-for-profit child care centres
CWELCC Frequently Asked Questions
A: Enrolling in CWELCC is optional for all programmes. When CWELCC was implemented in 2022, child care programmes had the option to enroll in CWELCC through open enrollment. In 2024 the province shifted to a Directed Growth approach and gave each Service System Manager (including Wellington-Guelph) a finite number of child care spaces to allocate.
A: The Children’s Early Years Division has allocated all our spaces provided by the province. The process of selecting where spaces would go was outlined in our Directed Growth Plan.
If spaces become available to reallocate in 2026 (i.e. if an existing CWELCC programme closes), the Children’s Early Years Division will prioritize programmes that:
Are in geographic regions with low access rates (based on the Directed Growth Plan)
Support the needs of priority populations.
Are child care centres with existing non-CWELCC spaces or centres that can be licensed for additional spaces with only minor operational adjustments.
Not-for-profit child care centres
A: No. Approval is not only based on quality. Many programmes are not approved due to limited space and strict timelines.
A: Yes. Licensed child care programmes can still open and operate, even if they are not enrolled in CWELCC.
A: The Ministry of Education (Government of Ontario) sets the number of CWELCC spaces for each region. Local service system managers, including Wellington County, cannot exceed these allocations.
A: No.
Licensed child care refers to programmes that are approved and regulated by the Province of Ontario and must meet provincial standards for health, safety, staffing, and quality.
CWELCC is a funding programme that helps reduce parent fees. Only licensed child care programmes can participate in CWELCC, but not all licensed programmes are enrolled, because CWELCC funding and spaces are limited.
A:Child Care Fee Subsidy helps reduce licensed child care and approved camp and recreation programme fees for children up to age 13. To be eligible for Fee Subsidy you must have a need for care and be eligible based on your family income.
A: There is a significant discrepancy between the high demand for child care, and the capacity to expand the child care system to meet this demand. There is not enough supply of child care to meet the needs of the community, because of limitations including workforce shortages, limited CWELCC expansion, limited capital funding, and population growth.
CWELCC has improved the affordability of child care, but has increased the demand for child care.
A: The Children’s Early Years Division is maximizing CWELCC spaces in Wellington-Guelph by allocating all spaces provided by the province, and planning for them to open by the end of 2026. Additionally, the Children’s Early Years Division engages in communication strategies to emphasize the need for stable and increased funding to sustain the child care system. See Social Services Advocacy Priorities.
The Guidelines for Preparing and Effective Business Plan and Operating Budget Worksheet are intended as supports in planning for the opening of your child care business. The Declaration of Not-for-Profit Compliance is for reference to understand the requirements of the County for Not-for-Profit child care.
