Steps of the Admission Process to Childcare

Learn the steps of the admission process, which begins once your child has been registered on the waiting list of one or more educational childcare service(s) in the Portal. These steps can be slightly different depending on the type of childcare you select.

Childcare Centres and Subsidized Day Care Centres

To ensure fair and transparent management of available spaces, childcare centres (CPEs) and subsidized day care centres cannot access the identity of children on their waiting list.

A centralized, automated system overseen by the Ministère de la Famille identifies the next child to admit in priority (also called “the referred child”), according to a standardized ordering applicable to all CPEs and subsidized day care centres.

Ordering categories are used to ensure that childcare spaces are distributed fairly.

Order on the Waiting List

The order on the waiting list is set automatically according to five categories:  

• category 1: child of a member of the childcare service staff residing at the same address as a child who is already admitted to the childcare service
• category 2: child of a member of the childcare service staff
• category 3: child residing at the same address as a child who is already admitted to the childcare service
• category 4: child who is not already admitted to a CPE or a subsidized day care centre
• category 5: child who does not fit in any of the above categories

For each category, children are ranked according to the time elapsed on the waiting list since the admission date in childcare preferred by the parent.

Admission Priorities

CPEs and subsidized day care centres can also prioritize up to 50% of their spaces using one or more of the following admission priorities:

• children with special needs;
• children living in precarious socio-economic conditions;
• children with one parent enrolled in a general or specific educational institution;
• children with a parent working for a specific employer other than an educational childcare provider;
• children with a parent living on the territory of a specific local municipality or its borough;
• Indigenous children or children with an Indigenous parent.

The system automatically selects the child who matches the characteristics for the available space and who has the highest rank according to the five ordering categories, while considering the admission priority, if applicable.

You can see the admission priorities specific to every CPE and subsidized day care centre by accessing their description in the Registration Portal.

To know your child’s position on the CPEs’ and subsidized day care centres’ waiting lists on which they are registered, check the rank indicator for each admission request in your file. This tool provides an estimate of your child’s rank compared to other children who are in the same age bracket and who are registered on this list.

Responding to a Space Offer

When your child is referred for an available space, the CPE or subsidized day care centre will contact you to offer a visit of their facility. This visit may be mandatory if it is part of the childcare service’s admission process or it may be optional if it is left to your discretion.

If the visit is optional, you have three days to visit the childcare service after receiving their first call. When the provider demands that you visit the childcare service, they must give you an opportunity to visit within the five days following their first call. After this visit or after the deadline, you have two days to accept or refuse the space offer. The deadlines are shorter when the space must be filled within 15 days of the child referral application.

The provided deadlines are minimum requirements. Some facilities may grant you more time, depending on the situation.

Non-Subsidized Day Care Centres and Home Educational Childcare Services

Unlike subsidized facilities, non-subsidized day care centres and home educational childcare services have access to the identity of children registered in their client pool.

They can admit a child of their choice but are expected to admit only children who are registered through the Registration Portal and are required to confirm each admission through this Portal. If you approach those facilities directly to obtain a space, you will have to register your child through the Portal before they can be admitted to childcare.

To accept a space in an educational childcare service, you must first assess the facility before signing to any commitment.

When a CPE, a day care centre, or a home childcare service contacts you to offer a space for your child, take the time to visit the facility, to examine any inspection report, and to carefully study the proposed service agreement to ensure that this is a safe, engaging environment that is adapted to the specific needs of your family. You have one to two days to make your decision.

After they offer you a space, the childcare service will usually propose a visit. If they don’t, do not hesitate to ask for one, as this is your right. Although optional, this visit is an important step to ensure that the childcare service meets your expectations. Here are a few things you might want to check:

• Are the proposed activities interesting and age-appropriate?
• Is the menu varied and balanced?
• Do you feel comfortable in this childcare service and do you believe that your child will easily adapt?
• Are the values conveyed by the childcare service aligned with yours?

The childcare services map includes the results of all inspections conducted by the Ministère de la Famille in facility-based childcare services (CPE and day care centres) in the last five years, as part of a complaint process or a permit renewal. These inspections help ensure the children’s health, safety, and well-being.

For more information, visit the Compliance of Recognized Educational Childcare Services page (French only).

Meeting the Staff

Make sure to also meet the educational staff or the home educational childcare provider and the people that may interact with your child. Ask yourself some basic questions, such as:

Does the educational staff seem welcoming and trustworthy, which will help you build a collaborative relationship easily?

What education or qualifications do the educators or home childcare service providers have?

In the case of a home childcare service, who else could interact with your child?

The service agreement is a document that you and your educational childcare service will have to sign after writing down the services to which your child will be entitled. It also serves as a means to support operations. Specific documents must be submitted for your child to be eligible to subsidized childcare.

For instance, you must conclude an agreement in writing with the childcare service that covers the following:  

• educational childcare services
• expected days of attendance
• hours of service
• whether the services are provided per day (continued childcare provided for 4–10 hours/day) or per half-day (childcare provided for 2½–4 hours)