Item - 2017.CD19.2

The Community Development and Recreation Committee recommends that:  

1.  City Council adopt the 10-year growth strategy, set out in Appendix A which calls for a tri-government investment in the growth of child care, and forward it to the provincial and federal governments for their consideration.

2.  City Council direct the General Manager, Children's Services to meet with provincial and federal representatives to pursue a tri-government agreement on expanding child care and early learning in Toronto.

3.  City Council confirm its ongoing commitment to funding 20 per cent of child care operating costs.

4. City Council direct the General Manager, Children’s Services to report to the Community Development and Recreation Committee on impacts of anticipated provincial and federal allocations for child care on the growth strategy when they are known.

The Community Development and Recreation Committee:

1.  Requested the General Manager, Children's Services to undertake a review of the existing subsidy system and report to the Community Development and Recreation Committee in the first quarter of 2018 on funding mechanisms to develop alternative approaches that could transform and simplify administration, eligibility and access, such as sliding scale and direct payments to programs, and include recommendations for changes to provincial regulations.

This report responds to a City Council request for a Child Care Growth Strategy. The Strategy envisions a licensed child care system that can serve 50 per cent of children aged 0-4 by 2026. Achieving this vision requires significant investment from all three orders of government in terms of creating approximately 30,000 new licensed spaces and making investments in affordability for all families.  The Growth Strategy aligns with the Children's Services Service Plan Capital Strategy, and with the new child care funding model implemented in 2017.