Grande Prairie Family Centered Coalition
Grande Prairie Family Centered Coalition
Find licensed child care options near you using the online Child Care Look-up Tool
For the complete guide on choosing child care in Alberta click here
Call Child Care Connect for support: 1-844-644-5165:
Choosing child care for your family is a very important decision. Parents want to find a safe, healthy environment that supports their child’s social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional development but also is a good fit for their child. Think about where he or she will be most comfortable. It’s important to consider things like your child’s age, the types of activities they enjoy, the number and ages of children your child enjoys being with, and any food allergies or food preferences that must be accommodated.
Finding the right program is also important for your family. Each child care program will have a different approach to how they offer child care and may provide different services, such as snacks or meals, or even the hours in the day that they provide child care. You’ll want to consider other things like your work hours, the location of the program and the cost.
A few things you should think about when considering the best child care option include:
• Would you prefer your child to be in a home-based setting or in facility-based early learning, like a daycare?
• Are you looking for part-day or full-day care? How many days per week or per month?
• Do you prefer child care that is close to your home, close to your workplace, or close to your child’s school?
• What is your child care budget?
• What hours of child care work for your family’s needs?
• How many children do you have who require child care? Would you like them to stay together?
• Do you prefer an early childhood educator who has completed post-secondary education specializing in child development,
guiding children’s behaviour, and early learning practices?
• Would you prefer a program that is licensed by the Government of Alberta?
• What are your goals for your child’s learning, development and discipline?
Choosing quality child care for your family is a very important decision. You want to find a safe, healthy environment that supports the social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional development of your children. In Alberta, there are two types of child care under the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation: licensed and unlicensed. This makes it easy for parents to know which options are regulated by the government and which are not.
In Alberta, there are two types of child care under the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation: licensed and unlicensed. This makes it easy for parents to know which options are regulated by the government and which are not.
Licensed child care
Facility-based
Licensed facility-based programs include:
• daycare
• out-of-school care
• preschool
The Alberta government works collaboratively with licensed facility-based programs by monitoring and inspecting their centres
to ensure they are meeting health, safety and program quality standards for children in their care under the Early Learning and
Child Care Act
Home-based
Family day home educators are recruited and trained by licensed family day home agencies to offer child care in their own home. Family day home educators can offer child care for up to 6 children not including their own.
Licensed agencies help by offering family day home educators a network for training, resources and assistance. Agencies provide assurance to parents using family day homes by monitoring each program to ensure they are meeting health, safety and program quality standards for children in their care as prescribed under the Family Day Home standards and the Act.
Unlicensed child care
Unlicensed child care programs can provide child care for up to 6 children, not including their own, at any given time. Unlicensed providers are not monitored by the Alberta government or licensed agencies. Examples of unlicensed care include nannies, private day homes and informal arrangements with friends, neighbours or family.
Under the Act, the Alberta government can investigate complaints about unlicensed child care providers when there is reason to
believe that:
• a person is providing care for more than 6 children (not including their own), or
• an imminent threat to the health, safety or welfare of any children to whom the person is offering or providing care exists.
If either of these are confirmed, Children’s Services will issue and enforce a stop order. In this situation, parents of the children in the unlicensed program will be notified of the stop order.