Part 11.1 Insurance

Ontario Regulation 137/15 s. 71

Intent

Section 71 is in place to make sure licensees are protected against liability action. Requiring insurance also reduces risks because the licensee needs to meet certain requirements to get/maintain insurance. As such, insurance is important for both licensees and all others in the centre.

Clarifying guidance

Given how important having insurance is, if a licensee cannot prove they have general liability coverage and personal injury coverage (and insurance for a vehicle, if the licensee owns a vehicle), the ministry may take enforcement action against the licensee.

For licensees with a purchase of service agreement with a service system manager, they should also check to make sure they meet specific requirements around insurance, if there are any. For example, there may a minimum dollar amount of insurance coverage required under the purchase of service agreement.

It is important that licensees make their insurance brokers aware of every aspect of their program, including, where applicable, transportation of children, field trips, coverage for volunteers, contract liability and liability of board members/officers.

Best practices

Co-operative programs should check with their local co-op councils about group insurance plan coverage that may be available.

Compliance Indicators

  • There is a current insurance policy that includes comprehensive general liability coverage and personal injury coverage for the employees and volunteers in each child care centre, where applicable

And

If the licensee owns a vehicle, the insurance policy shows coverage for all vehicles owned by the licensee

Part 11.2 Children's Records

Ontario Regulation 137/15 ss. 72(1) and (2)

Intent

Subsections 72(1) and 72(2) are in place to make sure that licensees collect and maintain information that is needed to provide appropriate and responsive child care services for children and to make sure that the licensees, their supervisors and staff can easily and quickly access such information.

Subsection 72(5) is in place to make it clear that the period of record retention (3 years in this case), is to be counted from the day the child is no longer attending the centre (as opposed to starting the counting of the 3 years from the day the child started getting child care at the centre).

Subsection 72(6) is in place to allow the medical officer of health (which is the formal way to say local public health unit) to access some (not all) information in a child’s record. The information that the local medical officer of health can look at has to do with public health matters (such as immunization).

Clarifying guidance

Administrative Penalty

Contravention of subsections 72 (1) and/or 72(2) may lead to an administrative penalty of $750. See section 78 and item 4 of Table 2 under this section.

The amount of the administrative penalty increases if the contravention is repeated in the next three years.

An administrative penalty can be up to $100,000.

If information required under subsection 72(1) is not available, either because a certain section is not applicable to a given child or the child’s parent does not wish to provide the information, licensees should record the reason that the information is not available by indicating “not applicable” or “parent did not wish to provide”. This record makes it clear that the licensee has made an effort to collect the information.

Cross-references:

The regulation has requirements around documentation related to immunization for children who do not attend school. See section 35. If there is a medical reason why a child cannot be immunized or the parents object to immunization on the basis of their religious beliefs or conscience grounds, the children’s record must include a completed version of one of the two standard ministry forms, which are available on the government’s Central Forms Repository as Statement of Medical Exemption (form 010-3041) and the Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief (form 010-3042).

The regulation has requirements around individualized plans for: children with anaphylactic allergies (see paragraph 39(1)(3) and subsection 39(2)). Children with medical needs (see section 39.1), and children with special needs (see section 52).

The regulation requires that children under 1 year of age be placed for sleep in a certain position, unless the child’s doctor writes a note saying otherwise. See subsection 33.1(1).

The regulation requires that all infants under 1 year of age be fed in accordance with the parent’s written instructions. See clause 42(1)(a).

The regulation requires that, where special dietary and feeding arrangements have been made between the licensee and a parent, these arrangements need carried out so they meet the parent’s written instructions. See section 44.

The regulation has requirements around how long children need to go outside for outdoor play for the period of time specified in the regulation unless a doctor or a child’s parent says in writing that the child shouldn’t go outside for the required period of time. For programs over 6 hours/day, see clause 47(1)(c) and for programs which operate only before and after school, see subsection 47(1.1).

The regulation provides that licensees need to arrange their daily program so that it meets any written instructions from a child’s parent. See subsection 47(5). 

The regulation says, “unless otherwise specified in this Regulation, any record, report or other document required under this Regulation, or any other regulation made under the Act, may be made or kept in either a hard copy or electronic format”. See subsection 82(2).

The regulation has requirements around having somewhere to store hard copies of records (if required because the licensee chooses to maintain hard copy records). See paragraph 15(1)(4).

The regulation has requirements around the keeping records. See subsection 82(1).

The information required by subsection 72(1) may be kept in either a hard copy or digital/electronic format and stored electronically. If a licensee chooses to only have the required information in electronic form, they must make sure that the information is accessible to staff and to ministry officials. If documents are password protected, licensees should have a system for making sure people know what the current password is.

If a licensee chooses to only have electronic documents of the records that the regulation requires, it does not need to have something like a filing cabinet to store physical records. If a licensee has a mix of both electronic and paper records, then a dedicated space such as a filing cabinet is required. Filing cabinets should be locked if they store personal information or personal health information.

Privacy

Some of the information held by a licensee under the CCEYA may be subject to privacy legislation.

There are different laws that address privacy which may be applicable to licensees (for example, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the provincial Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act).

Licensees need to seek their own legal advice about their privacy obligations and to create a policy describing:

  • how much/what type of information will be collected and how/in what format: information collected should be the minimum needed to serve the purpose of the service provided
  • right to privacy: the right of every child and family to privacy should be recognized and protected to the greatest extent possible
  • parental access: parents are to have access to their child’s records and should be informed of who at the child care centre or others working in some capacity for the licensee (for example, an accountant or lawyer) may have access to information in children’s records
  • informed consent: if the licensee wants to provide children’s information (including photos) to a third party, such as a researcher, or post children’s information on social media (for example, on the child care centre’s Facebook page), the licensee lets parents know about such plans, providing as much detail as possible about the plan so the parent has all the information they need to make a decision whether to agree to the release of the child’s information

Best practices

Licensees are responsible for securing children’s records against loss, fire, theft, defacement, tampering and copying or use by unauthorized persons.

It is recommended that the licensee develop and implement policies on how records are to be kept secure when out of a locked cabinet and in use and they should set out rules about not removing records from the premises (unless there’s an evacuation).

Dated, time-limited, specific consent forms are recommended for field trips, special events and parental instructions.

Compliance Indicators

  • Children's records include all of the information identified in subsection 72(1) (see above), as applicable
  • Children's records are kept on the premises of the child care centre at which the child receives care
  • Children's records (including application, attendance and individualized plans) are maintained for three years from the date the child is discharged

Or

Where records of discharged children are maintained at a head office, the licensee confirms that records are maintained for three years from the date the child is discharged

  • The licensee confirms that the medical officer of health is permitted to inspect the relevant records

And

The licensee confirms that copies of relevant records are provided to the medical officer of health on request

Part 11.3 Attendance

Ontario Regulation 137/15 ss. 72(3) and (4)

Intent

Subsections 72(3) and 72(4) are in place to:

  • ensure all children are accounted for at any given moment
  • enable the licensee to prove that the licensed capacity is not exceeded
  • help local public health units to do contact tracing if there is an outbreak of a contagious disease

Daily attendance records are especially important if a child care centre must be evacuated or if a child goes missing.

Clarifying guidance

Administrative Penalty

Contravention of subsection 72 (3) may lead to an administrative penalty of $750. See section 78 and item 4 of Table 2 under this section.

The amount of the administrative penalty increases if the contravention is repeated in the next three years.

An administrative penalty can be up to $100,000.

Attendance records are necessary during evacuation because when arriving at the designated place of shelter/offsite meeting place, staff must do a headcount and cross-reference this with the attendance record for that day to ensure all children present for the day were evacuated. Program staff must ensure that the attendance record for each licensed age group in the centre is easily accessible at all times, including during an evacuation.

Attendance records must accurately reflect when children are in the care of the child care centre, including the day and hours during which each child is in a licensed age group. This is important when transporting children to or from different locations. Records should only indicate that a child is signed out of the program when that child has been picked up by a parent or officially left the care/supervisions of the child care centre (for example, if the child has left to go to school).

Where a is licensed for more than one of the same licensed age group (for example, they are licensed for two kindergarten groups) the licensee may choose to maintain one attendance record but the record must meet all of the requirements in subsections 72(3) and (4) of the regulation which includes:

  • daily attendance of each child in the licensed age group
  • who was in the licensed age group each day
  • the hours during which they were in the licensed age group, and
  • time of arrival and the time of departure of each child or if a child is absent

If a licensee is licensed to care for two licensed kindergarten groups, the record must identify the required information for each licensed group (the group of up to 26 children). This does not mean that there must be two separate documents, as long as the one document meets all of the requirements set out above.

If a licensee chooses to keep daily attendance records in electronic form, they must make sure that the information is accessible to staff and to ministry officials at all times. If documents are password protected, licensees should have a system for making sure people in the centre who need to access the electronic documents know what the current password is. Licensees are to make sure that any mobile phone being used for inputting attendance and confirming/checking attendance will continue to be online if it is offsite (such as during an evacuation or out on a field trip.)

Cross-references:

The regulation says, “unless otherwise specified in this Regulation, any record, report or other document required under this Regulation, or any other regulation made under the Act, may be made or kept in either a hard copy or electronic format”. See subsection 82(2).

The regulation has requirements around having somewhere to store hard copies of records (if required because the licensee chooses to maintain hard copy records). See paragraph 15(1)(4).

The regulation has requirements around the secure storage of records – daily attendance records must be kept for 3 years. See subsection 82(1).

The regulation requires licensee to allow the medical officer of health or their designate (in other words, someone from the local public health unit) to look at some of the information in a child’s records, including what is there because of the requirements in 72(3) and 72(4). See clause 72(6)(a). The regulation also requires the licensee to provide the person from the local public health unit with copies of the information in the child’s records that is required by subsections 72(3) and 72(4). See clause 72(6)(b).

Best practices

Format/method of recording of attendance

When deciding on a method for recording daily attendance, licensees should develop a format and procedure that is appropriate for their program. Considerations for attendance format include the number of days per record sheet, responsibility for recording, number of attendance sheets (one for the whole program or one per room) and location of the attendance sheet. Licensees may also want to consider if other information should be included on the attendance sheet, such as whether children are attending the centre/program on a part-time or full- time basis.

Compliance Indicators

  • Attendance records are available on the premises

And 

The records include the actual time of arrival and departure for each child listed in attendance or a record that the child is absent

  • The licensee has daily attendance records of each licensed age group which include each child who was in the group each day and the hours that each child was in the group

Part 11.4 Release of Information

Ontario Regulation 137/15 s. 73

Intent

Section 73 is in place to provide that no child is refused service because a parent of the child has refused prior consent to release information as a condition of enrolment.

Compliance Indicators

  • The licensee confirms that parents are not required to provide consent to the release of personal information concerning their child as a condition for enrolment

Part 11.5 Copies of Agreement with a Service System Manager or First Nation

Ontario Regulation 137/15 ss. 75(2)

Intent

Subsection 75(2) is in place to ensure that the licensee and their staff are aware of the agreement in place between the licensee and a service system manager or First Nation. This helps everyone at the centre understand various roles and responsibilities.

Clarifying guidance

Administrative penalty

Contravention of subsection 75 (2) may lead to an administrative penalty of $750. See section 78 and item 6 of Table 2 under this section.

The amount of the administrative penalty increases if the contravention is repeated in the next three years.

An administrative penalty can be up to $100,000.

Compliance Indicators

If the child care centre provides services on behalf of a municipality or First Nation:

  • A copy of the agreement with the service system manager or First Nation is kept at the premises

Or

The licensee confirms that the agreement is on file at the head office

Part 11.6 Waiting Lists

Ontario Regulation 137/15 s. 75.1

Intent

Section 75.1 is in place to ensure parents don’t spend money to get onto a waiting list for a child care centre and to ensure that parents know how a licensee deals with and manages their waitlist.

Clarifying guidance

Important information: waiting list fees are not the same as enrolment or registration fees. Waiting lists contain the names of parents who want their child to attend a centre but there isn’t a spot for them yet. Enrolment fees can only be charged once the licensee offers the parent a secure spot in the child care centre for their child. O.Reg. 137/15 does not address enrolment fees. This means that a licensee can choose whether to charge enrolment fees.

Exemption: if a licensee does not use/have a waiting list for their centre/program, then they are not required to have written policies and procedures about waiting lists. For example, if the local service system manager establishes and maintains a single, centralized waiting list that would capture children who would attend the licensee’s program, the licensee is not required to develop their own waiting list policy.

Cross-references:

The regulation requires licensees to have a parent handbook and it requires the licensee’s parent handbook to include written policies and procedures about their waiting list (among other things). See clause 45(1)(e).

The regulation requires licensees to make available their parent handbook to any parent considering whether to enrol their child for child care with the licensee. See clause 45(2)(a).

While the waiting list policy must be included in the parent handbook, if a parent specifically asks the licensee for their waiting list policy, the licensee may provide that information in a different form, such as a photocopied page.

Cross-reference: Licensees must ensure that the written policies and procedures about waiting lists are implemented by staff, volunteers and students and the licensee must monitor for compliance and contraventions. See section 6.1 of the regulation.

Compliance Indicators

  • The licensee verbally confirms that fees and/or deposits are not charged for the placement of a child’s name on a waiting list
  • Where the licensee confirms that a waiting list is established or maintained, the licensee has developed a written waiting list policy that:
    • explains the order in which children are offered admission from the waitlist 
      And
    • describes how the waiting list will be available in a manner that maintains privacy of the child listed on it, but informs parents or guardians of the position of a child on the list
      Or
    • the licensee has adopted and completed all customizable areas of the standard policy provided by the Ministry

Part 11.7 Reporting Statistical Information

Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 ss. 70(1)

Ontario Regulation 137/15 s. 77

Intent

Subsection 70(1) in the CCEYA and section 77 in O. Reg. 137/15 are in place to authorize the ministry to require licensees to provide certain information, including personal information, when requested for specific purposes.

Clarifying guidance

The Ministry of Education does research and analysis and gathers important statistical information about child care in Ontario. These types of activities help the ministry to develop policies and plan for the child care system in Ontario.

Child Care Operations Survey

The Ministry of Education does an annual collection of statistical information about licensed child care operations through the Child Care and Licensing System (CCLS) – this annual collection is done through the Child Care Operations Survey. Licensees are required to complete the Child Care Operations Survey module in CCLS for each centre/program it operates every year. The survey gathers information about hours of operation, enrolment, fees, service agreements, and the type of building that a centre/program in located in.

Important information: when completing the annual Child Care Operations Survey, the licensee must provide information reflective of operations on December 31st of that year.

Licensees are to complete the survey module in CCLS, with each section reviewed and saved and the final declaration and consent confirmed.

For multi-site licensees, a survey must be completed for each licensed child care program that the licensee oversees.

Helpful information: to assist with completing the Child Care Operations Survey, licensees should refer to the Licensed Child Care Operations Survey Reference Guide, which is available in CCLS under the drop-down menu titled: Tools and Resources.

Compliance Indicators

  • The operations survey was completed in CCLS by the required due date

And

All information requested has been provided to the Ministry

Part 11.8 Record Retention

Ontario Regulation 137/15 s. 82

Intent

Subsection 82(1) is in place to ensure that records are stored in a way that doesn’t allow them to be modified or damaged and that they be kept for a good amount of time. Preserving records is a way to have access to a lot of history about a child care centre and the children who were in attendance.

Having and holding on to information in records is important because ministry officials need to look at them when they are doing licensing and enforcement activities.

Subsection 82(2) is in place to clarify records can be made and kept as hardcopies (printed out on paper) or digital/electronic documents (in other words, both formats are acceptable).

Clarifying guidance

All records (whether hard copy or digital) must be made available to ministry staff when requested and various records may be used to assess compliance with licensing requirements during a licensing visit.

Off-site records storage (for example, at a head office) is permitted unless otherwise specified in the regulation (for example, subsection 72(1) states that children’s records for each child receiving child care must be “kept…at a child care centre operated by the licensee…”).

The compliance indicators found in each section of this manual identify which records may be used to assess compliance with the related requirement (for example, attendance records will be reviewed to meet the requirements around keeping this information).

If a licensee cannot produce a record when asked to by a program advisor, or within a requested time period, this may result in the licensee being cited for non-compliance, which would be noted on the licence inspection summary for the centre.

Cross-reference: in addition to requirements in Ontario Regulation 137/15 that address record storage, Ontario Regulation 138/15 also has a requirement that licensees should be aware of:

Financial records

27.1 (1) Every licensee shall keep financial records for each child care centre or home child care agency it operates and shall keep such financial records for at least six years from the time of their making.

(2) The financial records referred to in subsection (1) shall show at least the assets, liabilities, income, expenses and accumulated surplus and deficit of the child care centre or home child care agency.

Best practices

Licensees can securely store or archive certain records off-site (for example, at the head office). If a licensee chooses to do this, they are to have a system that would enable them to quickly retrieve records.

Important information: if a licensee keeps electronic records and all or some of these are password-protected, the licensee should have a system in place to ensure that whoever could be present during a visit from a ministry official will know what the current passwords are.

Compliance Indicators

  • The licensee verbally confirms that all records, reports, and documents required to be made or kept under the Act/Regulation are kept for at least three years from the date they were made in a secure location, unless otherwise specified

And / Or

Where the program advisor has requested a record, report, or document that is required to be made or kept under the Act/Regulation, it has been made available to the inspector or program advisor for inspection

Part 11.9 Posting of Licence and Decal (Signage)

Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 ss. 14(1), (5) and (6)

Ontario Regulation 137/15 ss. 84(1), 85(1) and (2)

Intent

Subsection 14(1) of the CCEYA is in place so that parents can easily figure out that the centre they are in/visiting is licensed by the Ministry of Education and so people can see important details about the child care centre (such as the licensed capacity, any conditions on the licence and more).

Subsection 14(5) of the CCEYA is in place because only a licensee can possess its own licence and signage so copies cannot be made.

Subsection 14(6) is in place because licences and other signage issued by the ministry are the property of the ministry so they must be returned.

Subsection 84(1) of O.Reg. 137/15 is in place to provide more detail about what is meant by the word “signage” in subsection 14(1) of the CCEYA (subsection 14(2) is about home child care agencies so it doesn’t apply to licensees of child care centres).

Subsections 85(1) and 85(2) are in place because child care licences and signage issued to a licensee belong to the Ministry of Education so when a licensee is no longer licensed, the licence and signage must be returned to the ministry within a certain amount of time. These subsections also ensure that licences and signage are not misused or transferred to another person/entity.

See Appendix C for information about the sales of shares and assets of a corporation.

Clarifying guidance

The word signage in the CCEYA and O. Reg. 137/15 refers to licences and decals (which are like a sticker) that only child care licensees get from the ministry. The decal has the Ontario logo on it and belongs to the Ministry of Education.

The word conspicuous means very noticeable or easy to see. A conspicuous place in a child care centre is one where all parents can see what is posted. This means that licences and signage should not be posted in locations in the child centres where parents don’t normally go into, such as kitchens and staff rooms.

Regular licences

Regular child care licences are generated through the Child Care Licensing System. Licensees must print their own licence. If the licence is longer than one page when printed, licensees must ensure that all pages of the licence are posted and visible to parents.

Licensee must also post any other information that is specified as a condition of their licence, if any.

Provisional licences

When the ministry issues a provisional licence, the ministry will mail the licence to the licensee so there is no need for the licensee to print anything.

Important information: for any child care centre/program where there are multiple entrances to the premises (including for programs located in schools), the licensee’s hard copy of their licence only needs to be posted in one place – most commonly, this location is the main entrance used by most parents of children in the child care program.

Decals

When a licence is first issued, the ministry also sends the licensee a decal (which is like a sticker).

The licensed child care decal for child care centres is designed to be attached to a smooth glass surface, such as a window, and should be posted at the main entrance used by most parents.

The licensed child care decal is the property of the Ministry of Education and must be returned to the ministry when the child care centre is no longer operating as licensed child care. Licensees must also return their most recent licence (both regular and provisional licences) when returning their decal.

When returning a licensed child care decal, licensees must mail the decal and their most recent licence to:

Child Care Branch

77 Wellesley Street West, Box 980
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1N3

Important information: request for replacement decals must be submitted through the Request Replacement Decal module in Child Care Licensing System (CCLS). Instructions on how to submit a decal request in CCLS can be found in the Child Care Licensing System Reference Guide for Applicants and Licensees.

Offence

It is an offence under the CCEYA to contravene or fail to comply with subsection 14(6) of the CCEYA per paragraph 78(1)(7) of the Act.

A person convicted of an offence under the CCEYA is liable to a fine of not more than $250,000, imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or both (per section 79 of the Act) and is prohibited from providing child care or operating a child care premises in Ontario at any time in the future (per subparagraph 9(1)(1)(i) of the Act).

Administrative penalty

Contravention of section 14 of the CCEYA may lead to an administrative penalty of $750. See section 78 and item 12 of Table 1 under this section

The amount of the administrative penalty increases if the contravention is repeated in the next three years or if the contravention has been going on for two or more days in a row.

An administrative penalty can be up to $100,000.

Best practices

In shared space situations, such as schools or community centres, licensees should negotiate with the principal or person at a community centre who can make decisions about things like posting of signs in the building to have the decal issued by the ministry posted by the entrance used by most parents of children attending the child care centre (which may or may not be the main entrance of the building).

In situations where there is no conspicuous window location in which to post the decal, licensees may wish to get a small upright picture frame so that the decal can be displayed so parents and others can see it.

Compliance indicators

  • The licence is posted in a conspicuous place accessible to parents
  • The licensed child care decal is posted in a conspicuous place accessible to parents
  • Any additional information that the licensee is required to post through conditions on their licence is posted in a conspicuous place accessible to parents