Waitlist Form and Policy
Section 75.1 (1) of Ontario Regulation 137/15 – General
Waiting List
75.1 (1) No licensee shall charge or collect a fee or deposit for the placement of a child on a waiting list for admission to a child care centre or home child care agency. O. Reg. 274/16, s. 4 (1).
(2) Every licensee that establishes or maintains a waiting list described in subsection (1) shall develop written policies and procedures that,
(a) explain how the licensee determines the order in which children on the waiting list are offered admission; and
(b) provide that the waiting list will be made available in a manner that maintains the privacy and confidentiality of the children listed on it, but that allows the position of a child on the list to be ascertained by the affected persons or families. O. Reg. 274/16, s. 4 (2).
As of September 1, 2016, under the authority of Ontario Regulation 137/15, licensed child care centres may no longer charge parents fees to have their child placed on a wait list.
A wait list fee is any fee or deposit paid by a parent for an unsecured spot in a child care centre. Regardless of whether or not the fee is refundable, child care licensees may no longer accept payment to place a child’s name on a wait list that may or may not lead to the child being offered child care.
Child care centres may charge fees related to the administration of enrolling new children. However, these fees may only be charged once a child has been offered and accepted entrance into the child care centre.
The Ministry of Education recognizes that maintaining a wait list is not a straightforward endeavour and that a first-come/first- served approach may not be viable. Licensed centres need the flexibility to manage their admissions fairly, effectively and transparently.
To support transparency, new requirements in section 75.1 of the Ontario Regulation 137/15 requires child care licensees to have a wait list policy that explains how licensees manage wait lists and to include this policy in its parent handbook. Licensed child care centres must also provide parents with a best approximation of their child’s status on a wait list, when asked. These new requirements came into effect on January 1, 2017.
A hardcopy of the waiting list is accessible to families in the office upon request. On both a toddler and preschool list, their position will be organized by the date the application was received. Next to this would be the birthdate of the child and the requested care (i.e., full time, part time hours). The initials of the parents are used to maintain privacy. Finally, the list indicates the date the child was registered to the Centre. Every effort will be made to enrol families, but will be based on age, availability, day and times required. Priority is listed below.
As such, the LWCC prioritizes siblings to help ensure that siblings can be cared for in one location and to support the continued workforce participation of parents.
Priority is then given to students of York University and CUPE 3903 members, followed by staff, faculty, and finally, members of the wider community.
Based on the above, if space is available for both toddler and preschool age groups, priority is then given on a first-come/first-served approach if viable. If either age groups are full within a given day, once space becomes available, whether full time or part time space, the LWCC will revisit the wait list. The LWCC will prioritize the first family, based on the above list, who may fill the space based on their requested hours of care and the child’s age group.
Families may ask their status on the waiting list in person, through email or phone call.