Home Child Care | Region of Waterloo

The Region of Waterloo is licensed by the Ministry of Education to run a home child care program for children from birth to age 12. Over 350 caregivers contract with us to provide quality care to more than 1,000 children in Waterloo Region.

Information for parents

Our program is available to all families, even if you need help to pay for it. Our consultants are trained in early childhood education and work closely with caregivers to ensure they meet provincial standards. They also work closely with families to form trusting, supportive relationships that help children grow and develop to their full potential.

Visit the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care page for more information about the plan.

Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC)

Apply for home child care

Once you apply, you will be contacted by email to review your child care needs when you are within 3 months of your start date. Home Child Care differs from centre care in the sense that we do not have the same waitlist process. We will let you know what spaces are available in your area closer to the time that you require care based on your care needs and preferences.

Apply for home child care

Rates

Below are our current daily rates for care along with the new rates of care that will be in effect January 1, 2025, as applicable under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Any fees for insufficient funds are considered non-base fees and are not eligible for a reduction under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

If you are unable to afford child care, you may qualify to have some or all of the cost covered by the Region.

Help Paying for Child Care

Region of Waterloo Home Child Care Base Fees


Hours required per day	Age of child	Effective Jan. 1, 2023	Effective Jan. 1, 2025	Effective April 1, 2025
H1 (Before and After School - under 5 hours)	Preschool Age (before and after school) School Age (before and after school)	$12.29 $26.00	$12.29 $26.00	$12.29 $28.00
H2 (0-10 hours)	Infant (3 - 18 months) Toddler (18 - 30 months) Pre School (30 - 72 months) School Age	$25.99 $23.15 $22.21 $45.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $45.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $47.00
H3 (10-18 hours)	Infant (3 - 18 months) Toddler (18 - 30 months) Pre School (30 - 72 months) School Age	$29.30 $28.35 $27.41 $56.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $56.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $58.00
H4 (18-23 hours)	Infant (3 - 18 months) Toddler (18 - 30 months) Pre School (30 - 72 months) School Age	$39.22 $38.27 $37.33 $77.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $77.00	$22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $79.00

Advantages

Home child care provides a unique and rich learning environment for children. Siblings can often be placed together and smaller group sizes allow for more child and caregiver interaction. Hours of care are often flexible. When you choose a licensed child home care provider, you receive the following advantages and safeguards:

More hours of availability with flexible options
Friendly home atmospheres
Child Care Subsidy available for eligible families and CWELCC reduction to rates of care for all families
Criminal record check including vulnerable sector check (for all residents of the home 18 years and over)
Consultation with Registered ECEs
Child development screening
Access to free special needs resources
Home safety checks and unannounced visits
Paying monthly with pre-authorized payments
Caregivers required to have adequate insurance coverage
Tax receipts provided

Check the status of a child care provider

The Ministry of Education has had a public registry of all recorded and verified child care violations since January 2012.

Check the status of a child care provider

Explore our program

Information about Becoming a Caregiver

The Region is a licensed agency that contracts with approved caregivers to provide child care in their home. We welcome applicants who are registered early childhood educators, but it isn't a requirement. However, we do require that you have experience working with children. Due to the overwhelming number of applications we receive, not everyone that applies will be contacted for an interview.

Thank you for your interest in the Region of Waterloo’s Licensed Home Child Care Program.

At this time, we have reached our agency’s full capacity. Moving forward, applications received will be placed on a waiting list.

By completing the application, you agree to be placed on our waiting list. If you wish to proceed, please complete the Caregiver Application Survey.

Please note:

We will first consider applicants identified in priority neighbourhoods and applicants in our Language and Mentorship Program (LAMP)

There are no guarantees of sign-up when applications reopen.

Please note: If your first language is not English and you are below level 6, you can still apply to our program by completing the Caregiver Application Survey.

We now offer the Language and Mentorship Program (LAMP) to recruit caregivers from different cultures and languages. 

The purpose of this program is to provide parents with options to choose a caregiver who speaks their language or understands their culture. We collaborate with interpreters as needed to support the sign-up process, online learning, policy review and consultant visits. Interpreters are also available during the interview process.

Consultants visit and support the caregivers weekly, biweekly and then monthly. Caregivers are required to attend ESL Classes and/or English conversation circles in the community. Once the Caregiver and Consultant are comfortable with the level of communication, childcare provided, and ability to follow Home Child Care policies and procedures, caregivers will transition out of the LAMP program to the Consultant that supports their geographical area. 

We will contact applicants who are selected to move forward as more spaces become available.

We appreciate your patience as we work to continue to build child care spaces in our community.

Become a licensed caregiver with us and receive professional development opportunities and support from a registered Early Childhood Educator. Other benefits include:

Wage top ups
Referrals to your home child care program
No fee collection from parents, we pay you directly

We inspect your home to ensure it complies with the Ministry of Education's Home Inspection Checklist
Current Standard First Aid Certification with Infant CPR (Level C)
Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) for you and a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) for everyone 18 years or older who lives in your home
Family and Children Services record check for you and everyone 18 years or older who lives in your home
The requirements listed above will only be required after a passing score has been obtained in the interview and reference checks have been completed.

Resources for caregivers

Are you part of our community of caregivers? The resources below will help with your professional development and provide guidance on standards to follow when caring for children in your home.

Useful links