Daycare operators relieved as Alberta government changes payment timing

The Alberta government is making changes to grant funding given to daycares to help them weather the transition to a $10-a-day child-care system. 

The government is addressing a key complaint from daycare operators, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade Matt Jones told CBC News Thursday.

Instead of getting their affordability grants and subsidies five to 10 days after the end of a month, operators will start receiving 80 per cent of what they are owed at the beginning of March. The rest will come after they put in their actual financial information.

"This is a common sense adjustment that will provide some operating cash flow support for child-care operators," Jones said, adding that providers won't have to pay expenses without revenue for about 40 days.

The Alberta government is also working on a new one-time payment for operators who signed the 2022-23 affordability grant, which would cover the costs of the additional financial reporting required under the Alberta-Canada child care deal, he said.

Last week, Premier Danielle Smith announced that Jones — not current Children's Services Minister Searle Turton — will be responsible for implementing the daycare deal. Jones was Alberta's children's services minister in 2022.

Turton will still be responsible for other parts of his portfolio, including child protection and foster care. 

Operators relieved

Krystal Churcher is a child care operator and the chair of the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs, which represents for-profit and non-profit daycares. She is also a vocal critic of the federal child-care deal. 

The Alberta government set a deadline of Jan. 31 for operators to sign on for the latest round of affordability grants. Some of Churcher's members closed their daycares for one day to protest a shortfall in funding and lack of flexibility in the federal agreement. 

Changing funding to the beginning of the month comes as a relief to operators, Churcher said Friday. Her group has been advocating for this change for two years.

"This a win for us," she told CBC News. "We really feel very grateful to see this payment model changed — and changed in such a quick way."

As for the financial reporting grant, Churcher is taking a wait-and-see attitude until more details come. 

Churcher is pleased that Jones is taking over the file as she feels he understands the entrepreneurship involved in running a daycare.

Still, she remains displeased with the federal agreement as she believes it doesn't offer flexibility nor cover costs for operators.

"This is a national standardized system that is really rolling out a kind of one-size-fits-all and I don't think that's what Albertan families want," Churcher said. 

Jones is meeting next month with Jenna Sudds, the federal minister of families, children and social development. He plans to discuss work on Alberta's cost control framework.