The Alberta government is committed to making quality child care accessible and affordable for families. A key initiative in this effort is the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program, designed to support licensed child care programs and early childhood educators across the province. This program provides significant financial assistance to reduce child care fees for parents and enhance the professional development of educators.
This initiative stems from the agreement between the Alberta and federal governments, announced on November 15, 2021, with the ambitious goal of reducing average child care fees to just $10 per day by 2026 for families with children aged 0 to kindergarten. The Alberta Child Care Bursary Program is instrumental in achieving this target by offering various grants and funding opportunities.
Understanding the Alberta Child Care Grant Program
The Alberta Child Care Bursary Program operates through a grant system aimed at licensed daycare, out-of-school care, preschool programs, and licensed family day home agencies. These programs can apply for funding to bolster their efforts in recruiting, retaining, and professionally developing their certified educators. The available financial supports are diverse, including wage top-ups, professional development funds, release grant funding, and mandatory employer contribution funding.
To access grants under the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program, licensed child care programs offering daycare and preschool services must have a signed Child Care Affordability grant agreement. This requirement applies to both facility-based child care centers and family day home agencies.
Programs exclusively providing out-of-school care for kindergarten and school-age children are also eligible to participate in the agreement, specifically for wage top-ups and professional development funding. For comprehensive details on eligibility criteria and the application process for wage top-ups, professional development, release time, and mandatory employer contribution funding, refer to the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide.
Types of Funding Available Under the Child Care Bursary Program
The Alberta Child Care Bursary Program encompasses several distinct funding streams, each designed to address specific needs within the child care sector.
Wage Top-Up Funding: Supporting Early Childhood Educator Salaries
Wage top-up funding is a core component of the bursary program. It provides licensed child care programs with additional funds to increase the wages of their certified early childhood educators, supplementing the base wage provided by the employer. It’s important to note that staff must be paid at least the minimum wage before the wage top-up is applied.
Who is Eligible for Wage Top-Up Funding?
This funding is specifically for certified frontline staff who directly engage in child care. Eligible positions include:
- Program supervisors and alternate supervisors (as defined by the Early Learning and Child Care Regulation).
- Family child care consultants or coordinators within licensed family day home agencies.
To qualify, individuals must hold certification as an early childhood educator at Level 1, 2, or 3 and fulfill the conditions outlined in the “Eligible hours for wage top-up” section of the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide.
Wage Top-Up Funding Rates
The wage top-up is paid monthly, up to a maximum of 181 hours, at rates that vary based on the educator’s certification level.
Table 1. Wage Top-up Rates
| Early childhood educator certification level | Government Wage Top-up Rates |
|---|---|
| Level 1 early childhood educator | $2.64 / hour |
| Level 2 early childhood educator | $5.05 / hour |
| Level 3 early childhood educator | $8.62 / hour |
These top-up rates significantly enhance the average wages of early childhood educators in Alberta.
Table 2. Average Employer Paid Wages Before and After Government Wage Top-up Funding
| Early childhood educator certification level | Average employer-paid wage (as of September 2024) | Average wage with wage top-up as of September 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 early childhood educator | $17.23 | $19.97 |
| Level 2 early childhood educator | $18.30 | $23.35 |
| Level 3 early childhood educator | $20.39 | $29.01 |
Professional Development Funding: Investing in Educator Growth
Recognizing the importance of continuous learning, the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program offers professional development funding to licensed child care programs. This funding helps cover the costs associated with approved post-secondary tuition and textbooks, as well as attendance at relevant conferences or workshops for certified early childhood educators (Level 1, 2, or 3).
To access professional development funding, programs need to submit a Professional Development Funding Request form.
Other professional development opportunities are also available through ministry-funded organizations, providing a wide range of options for educators to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Eligibility for Professional Development Funding
Professional development funding is available for certified early childhood educators who are employees of licensed child care programs, as well as family day home program educators working with licensed agencies. Eligible individuals must:
- Provide direct child care, including program supervisors, alternate supervisors, and family child care consultants/coordinators.
- Hold certification as an early childhood educator at Level 1, 2, or 3.
- Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
- Have worked at least 29 hours in the month preceding the expenditure or application date.
Professional Development Funding Rates
The bursary program provides significant financial support for professional development activities.
Table 3. Professional development funding rates (effective September 1, 2021)
| Professional development type | Funding rate per early childhood educator |
|---|---|
| Post secondary courses | Up to $1,500 per year |
| Workshops and conferences | Up to $500 per year |
Release Time Funding: Supporting Study and Training
Release time funding is available to early childhood educators who are eligible for professional development funding. This unique funding aspect of the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program allows educators to receive pay while pursuing approved professional development activities, such as studying, completing coursework, or attending workshops. This funding is available regardless of when the training occurs, even outside of regular working hours, and is considered a taxable benefit.
Who Can Access Release Time Funding?
This funding is for early childhood educators employed by licensed child care programs or family day home program educators working with licensed agencies who:
- Are eligible for professional development funding.
- Have enrolled in or paid for an approved post-secondary course, workshop, or conference.
To access release time funding, programs must submit the Professional Development Funding Request form.
Release Time Funding Rates
The Alberta Child Care Bursary Program supports both educators and programs through release time funding.
Table 4. Rate of payment to program per Early Childhood Educator.
| Professional development type | Payment to early childhood educator | Payment to program to offset wage related expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Post secondary courses | Up to $1,600 per fiscal year (based on $800 per 3-credit course to a maximum of 2 courses) | $60 per course |
| Workshops and conferences | Up to $787.50 per year (based on $17.50 per hour to a maximum of 45 hours) | $1.33 per hour (up to 45 hours) |
Mandatory Employer Contribution Funding: Assisting with Payroll Costs
To further support child care programs, the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program includes mandatory employer contribution funding. Programs receiving wage top-up funding are also eligible for this additional funding to help cover mandatory payroll contributions and premium payments associated with the wage top-up payments.
This funding is calculated at a rate of 9.51% of the wage top-up funding received, designed to approximate the program’s expenses for Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) payroll contributions related to the wage top-ups.
Eligibility for Employer Contribution Funding
Programs are eligible for mandatory employer contribution funding for each early childhood educator staff member for whom they receive wage top-up funding, provided they are also making CPP contributions and paying EI and WCB premiums for that staff member.
Applying for Funding Through the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program
Eligible child care programs interested in accessing wage top-up, professional development, release time, and mandatory employer contribution funding need to sign a grant agreement online via the Child Care Licensing Portal.
Step 1: Review the Program Guide
Before applying, it is crucial to review the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide. This guide provides detailed information on eligibility, the application process, and all requirements.
Step 2: Access and Sign the Grant Agreement in the Child Care Licensing Portal
An individual with official signing authority for the child care program must have an account in the Child Care Licensing portal to review and sign the grant agreement.
For guidance on creating a new account or logging into an existing one, refer to the Child Care Licensing Portal – Operator Login Guide.
Instructions on accessing and signing the grant agreement for wage top-up and professional development funding can be found in the Child Care Licensing Portal– Signing Wage Top-up & PD Grant Agreements.
Post-Application: Grant Funding Payments
Once the grant agreement is signed, programs will need to submit online claims monthly to receive wage top-up and mandatory employer contribution funding payments. More information about the online child care claims system is available online.
Wage top-up and mandatory employer contribution funding are paid based on the monthly hours claimed by the program.
Professional development and release time funding payments are processed based on approved Professional Development Funding Requests and are included in the overall child care program deposit during the next monthly claim processing cycle.
Further details on the online child care claims system can be found online.
Contact Information
For any inquiries regarding the Alberta Child Care Bursary Program, please contact:
Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-1119
Toll free: 1-800-661-9754
Email: [email protected]
(Please note: Walk-in service is not available)
