Grants to Ontario licensed child care centers in eligible locations to improve the quality of child care services. First-time applicants must contact program staff prior to applying. Funding is intended to enhance the salaries of staff who are licensed to provide care for children ages 0 to 12 years old in Toronto.
The Provincial Wage Enhancement (PWE) Funding has the following goals:
Close the wage gap between RECE wages in the education sector and licensed child care sectors;
Stabilize licensed child care operators by helping them retain RECEs/child care staff; and
Support greater employment and income security.
These goals support the Ministry's priorities to:
Stabilize and transform the existing child care system to increase program choice and reliability for parents and support consistent, higher quality child care services to support children's learning and development; and
Support licensed home child care agencies and strengthen the licensed home child care system.
The eligibility for the 2023 Provincial Wage Enhancement (PWE) is based on three levels of assessment:
- Centre eligibility
- Eligibility of a staff position
- Eligibility of the person occupying the staff position
Centre eligibility:
- Must be a licensed child care center operating in the City of Toronto
- Must have eligible staff positions
- Must submit all supporting documents, if applicable.
Eligibility of a staff position:
- Must have existed in a centre between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022* and continue to exist in 2023
- For full eligibility, the hourly wage must be less than or equal to $26.59 including all existing base funding (excluding 2022 PWE & 2022 CWELCC-Wage Floor Funding)
- For partial eligibility, the hourly wage must be between $26.60 and $28.59, including all existing base funding (excluding 2022 PWE & 2022 CWELCCWage Floor Funding)
*Not applicable for centres that open in 2023
Eligibility of the person occupying the staff position:
- Must be employed in 2023 in a position eligible for the grant by an employer who has applied for and has been approved for funding
- For full eligibility, the 2023 hourly wage must be less than or equal to $26.59 including all existing base funding (excluding 2023 PWE & 2023 CWELCC-Annual Increase & Wage Floor Funding)
- For partial eligibility, the hourly wage must be between $26.60 and $28.59, including all existing base funding (excluding 2023 PWE & 2023 CWELCC-Annual Increase & Wage Floor Funding)
Centers that are applying for the first time must contact Toronto Children’s Services for a User ID and Password.
Estimated Size of Grant
For information about funding amounts, see Page 8 of the Guidelines in Supporting Documents, below.
Term of Contract
- The Agency shall pay the funds in addition to the staff's regular wage rate and all wage grants otherwise paid for the period of January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
- Within 60 calendar days after payment is received Operators must distribute PWE to all eligible staff retroactive to January 1, 2023 as per approved application and on each paycheque going forward.
All other required documentation can be emailed to tcsfunding@toronto.ca
For inquiries, contact the above email address.
Or drop off or mail to:
Attention: Faye Jose, Director
Provincial Wage Enhancement Applications
Toronto Children’s Services, 10th floor Metro Hall
55 John St
Toronto ON M5V 3C6
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