Funding for working ECEs

Overview

The Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program helps licensed family day home agencies and daycare, out-of-school care and preschool programs support the recruitment, retention and professional development of their certified early childhood educators (ECEs).

If you are a certified ECE working for a licensed program or under a licensed family day home agency that is approved to receive this grant, the following types of funding are available:

• wage top-ups
• professional development
• paid release time for training

ECEs do not need to apply for this funding themselves. Payments are provided to approved programs who must transfer it to their ECEs. This includes when an ECE has paid for approved professional development training themselves.

Eligibility

To receive funding, you must:

• be certified as an ECE (Level 1, 2, or 3)
• be a paid employee of a licensed day care, preschool and/or out-of-school care program or be contracted as a family day home educator with a licensed agency
• work for a licensed childcare program or family day home agency that participates in the grant program

Ask your employer if they have signed the required agreements and are submitting monthly claims on your behalf.

Wage top-up funding

Wage top-up funding provides additional pay over and above the base wage paid by your employer. Eligible ECEs must be paid at least minimum wage (not including the wage top-up) and will receive hourly wage top-ups based on their certification level.

Table 1. Wage top-up rates

Funding is paid monthly up to a maximum of 181 hours at the following rates:

Table 2. Average employer-paid wages before and after government wage top-up funding

Wage top-ups are taxable, paid through your employer’s payroll, and should be shown as a separate line item (for example government contribution) on your paystub.

Employers receive ‘mandatory employer contribution funding’ to help cover legislated payroll contributions (CPP, EI, and WCB) for administering wage top-up payments. This makes it easier for your employer to offer this funding, ensuring your wage top-up is fully supported and your benefits are properly funded.

Professional development funding

ECEs can receive up to $2,000 per year to help cover costs of approved training. ECEs must have worked at least 29 hours in at least one month before applying and meet other eligibility criteria (refer to the Funding Guide). If an ECE paid for an approved workshop or course themselves, programs can still apply on their behalf and transfer them the received funding.

Table 3. Professional development funding rates (effective September 1, 2021)

Release time funding

Release time funding is available to all ECEs who are eligible for professional development funding. ECEs can receive up to $2,387.50 per year as an incentive to complete approved education and training, even if it occurs outside of scheduled work hours (for example, evenings or weekends). This allows ECEs to be paid for studying, completing post-secondary coursework and/or attending workshops that have been approved for professional development funding.

Release time funding is paid to programs who then must transfer payments to their ECEs as a taxable benefit.

Table 4. Rate of payment to program per ECE

Related

• Funding and supports
• Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program
• Start a childcare program