The Municipality of Chatham-Kent enters into Purchase of Service Agreements with licensed child care providers, licensed in-home child care agencies and High Five accredited Recreation Programs in order to assist eligible families with their child care costs.
Child Care & Early Years Portal
Child Care Expansion Plan: Our Targeted Growth Strategy
The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System aims to make child care more accessible and affordable and to increase the number of spaces for families.
The Province of Ontario has committed to the creation of 86,000 new licensed child care spaces by the end of 2026.
As a result, the Ministry of Education gave Chatham-Kent a target of and additional 260 licensed child care spaces that we must create by 2026.
Chatham-Kent's Growth Plan
We added 162 spaces in 2022, 30 spaces in 2023.
To work toward our targeted growth plan in 2024 we added an additional 118 spaces, leaving us with 142 spaces for 2025 and 2026. The Ministry has identified that all 142 spaces will need to be occupied by Non-Profit agencies. Some of these spaces are reserved for other projects that are already approved and underway. By the end of 2026, we are targeted to have 2,653 total spaces for the 0-5 age group in our community.
At this time, no new licensed agencies are being sought to fulfill our expanded targeted growth plan.
The expansion of child care spaces is rooted in Ontario's Access and Inclusion Framework. This framework targets specific communities to support the families that need them most.
2022
| 162
| 162
|
2023
| 30
| 30
|
2024
| 130
| 118
|
2025
| 62
| 74
|
2026
| 68
| 68
|
Priority Neighbourhoods
The neighbourhood data below depicts the number of spaces and children in our community. Neighbourhoods that score 33% or below for the child care coverage rate, or where there are more than 3 children to 1 space, are considered a priority. This is the standard measurement within the Ministry's targeted growth plan.
East Wallaceburg
| 440
| 26
| 16.92
| 6%
|
Dresden/Bothwell
| 470
| 69
| 6.81
| 15%
|
Thamesville
| 280
| 70
| 4.00
| 25%
|
Central Chatham
| 1140
| 289
| 3.94
| 25%
|
Ridgetown
| 300
| 87
| 3.45
| 29%
|
Tilbury/Wheatley
| 885
| 288
| 3.07
| 33%
|
Pain Court
| 175
| 57
| 3.07
| 33% |
Blenheim
| 665
| 284
| 2.34
| 43% |
East Chatham
| 435
| 289
| 2.04
| 49%
|
North Chatham
| 1195
| 786
| 2.04
| 66%
|
West Wallaceburg
| 350
| 272
| 1.29
| 78%
|
Based on these criteria, there are five main priority cities/towns for child care growth in Chatham-Kent for children five years of age and under:
- Dresden/Bothwell
- Thamesville
- Ridgetown
- Tilbury/Wheatley
- Pain Court
Although Chatham and Wallaceburg as an entire community do not fall below the target to be considered a child care desert area, Central Chatham and East Wallaceburg as separate neighbourhoods do fall below the 33% threshold.
We also refer to the child care waitlist in determining which neighbourhoods should be prioritized due to the high numbers of families requiring child care. As a result, Blenheim and Chatham are also included as priority locations.
To assist families in most urgent need, we are looking for child care locations with the capacity to transform under-utilized spaces to better meet community needs. As an example, we are investigating opportunities to add spaces to Francophone schools that realign existing licensed spaces to better serve our families – even if it does not increase overall space capacity.
To reflect community feedback, we will explore opportunities to support additional access to part-time and off-peak child care – in particular, to accommodate shift workers in Chatham-Kent. This may include additional spaces for before and after school hours or extended-hour care through home care providers.
New Child Care Centres
If you are interested in establishing a new child care centre or require licensing information please access the
Ministry of Education for child care providers for valuable information and review the Child Care Licensing in Ontario Orientation Package. Please be aware there will be no funds to support new centres that are not part of our targeted growth plan.
Also, please refer to the
2022 Planning and design guidelines for licensed child care centres.
If you have any questions regarding opening a child care centre in Chatham-Kent, please email
ckchildcare@chatham-kent.ca.
General Operating Grant Funding
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent also enters into service contracts with licensed child care providers and licensed in-home child care agencies for the purpose of distributing General Operating Grant funding allocations where funds permit for the 6-12 age group. Currently, we are not granting new service contracts for this purpose.
Funding received must be reconciled on an annual basis under the Ministry of Education Guidelines.
Existing Agreements
It is a requirement of the service contract to have an existing purchase of service agreement with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
It is necessary to hold a clear and valid license from the Ministry of Education and to maintain insurance under the Municipality of Chatham-Kent Risk Management requirements.
Visit the
Child Care and Early Years Portal for additional templates and resources.
