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Licensed home childcare offers a high-quality early learning and childcare experience for children.


What it means to become a Licensed Home Child Care Provider

Licensed home child care offers a high-quality early learning and child care experience for children. With over 100 licensed homes in Halton Region, you can become a licensed home child care provider for children and families in your community.

As a licensed home child care provider, you will:

  • Provide high-quality child care in a safe, nurturing home learning environment.
  • Care for children from infancy to 12 years of age and offer full-day, half-day, before and after school or extended-hour care.
  • Work with an agency that helps you with the licensing process and provides professional support, resources and guidance.
  • Join a community of child care professionals.

Why you should become a licensed home child care provider

Being a licensed home child care provider offers the independence of running your own business, with the support and resources of an agency. Other benefits include:

  • Administrative support from an agency to find and place children in your home, collect payment from families and directly pay providers.
  • Support from a home visitor who can provide guidance for your programming and answer questions.
  • Access to wage enhancements, such as Wage Enhancement Grant and Operating Grants.
  • Participate in professional learning opportunities and resources, and engage in a community of licensed providers.
  • The flexibility to care for a small group of children and accept children based on your availability and needs.
  • Reduced child care fees for eligible families through the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System and child care fee subsidy.
  • Reassurance for families that your home meets provincial home child care requirements.

How to become a licensed home child care provider

Providers apply to a licensed home child care agency and families are placed with a provider that best suits their needs.

A licensed home provider is contracted by a home child care agency licensed with the Ministry of Education. Licensed home child care providers with a licensed agency are supported by a home child care visitor with a background in Early Childhood Education (ECE) who meets Ministry of Education requirements (external link).

Home child care agencies recruit, screen, approve and support licensed home child care providers who offer child care in their homes. Agencies also refer families to you looking for care, whose child care needs and preferences align with your schedule.

The agency visits the provider through home visits and provides resources, guidance and training to home providers in various areas of their program.


Frequently Asked Questions

Every home child care agency in Ontario must be licensed by the Ministry of Education. All licensed home child care providers must follow the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (external link) requirements.

Licensed home child care providers must post a green decal on display at their home that says they are licensed to make it easier to recognize licensed child care.

Non-licensed home child care or informal care is not required to meet the same government requirements as a licensed home.

A home child care provider with a licensed agency can care for a maximum of six children under the age of 13. A home child care provider not with a licensed agency can care for a maximum of five children under the age of 13.

All home child care providers must count their own children under the age of six and cannot care for more than three children under the age of two.

Yes, the provider and all adults in the home must have a Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening before caring for children.

The provider must obtain their Standard First Aid with Infant-Child CPR.

The agency and provider are regulated to ensure specific standards are met and that they follow provincial and municipal requirements. Agencies support providers to have policies and procedures regarding health and safety. The agency monitors the home regularly and provides oversight to ensure safe and nurturing environments.

Program planning is informed by How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years (external PDF). Licensed home child care providers also participate in Halton Region’s quality initiative, Quality First. Quality First supports providers to offer a high-quality early learning program through coaching and consultation with a Quality First Consultant and setting goals to improve quality.

Agencies provide guidance, resources and access to training, workshops and professional development for providers.

A home visitor is a professional who works for a licensed agency and ensures licensed homes are meeting licensing requirements and standards while providing a safe and nurturing environment for the children in their care. Home visitors have a background in early childhood education and child development.

Home visitors come for an initial inspection of your home before children are enrolled and regularly visit to ensure homes continue to meet the provincial requirements and the agency’s policies and procedures.

They support providers by:

  • Providing training and guidance to support providers with quality programming.
  • Visiting regularly to answer questions and concerns.
  • Offering support in planning activities for children at different stages of their development, nutritious meal planning and choosing materials and equipment that are safe and suitable for the children.

You do not need to be a registered early childhood educator (RECE) as a licensed home child care provider. Agencies have home visitors with a background in early childhood education to support providers. You should have a passion for working with children and be prepared for the challenges, as well as meaningful experiences in caring for young children.

If you are an RECE, licensed home child care may be a great opportunity to start your own business and offer high-quality child care in your home.


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