Learn how to submit for PD funding from the Alberta Government
Child Care Grant Funding
Licensed daycare, out-of-school care and preschool programs, as well as licensed family day home agencies can apply for grant funding to support the recruitment, retention and professional development of their certified educators. Available supports include wage top-up, professional development funding and release grant funding, and mandatory employer contribution funding.
Read the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide to see if you are eligible and learn about the process to apply for wage top-up, professional development, release time and mandatory employer contributions funding.
Professional Development Funding
This funding is provided to licensed child care programs to assist with the costs of approved post-secondary tuition and textbooks, as well as approved conferences or workshops for their eligible educators certified as Level 1, 2, or 3 early childhood educator.
To receive professional development funding, the program is required to submit a Professional Development Funding Request form (PDF, 121 KB).
PDF form issues
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- Save the PDF form to your computer – click or right-click the link and download the form.
- Open the PDF form with Adobe Reader. Fill it in and save it.
If you are still having problems opening the form, contact PDF form technical support.
Other professional development opportunities are available through ministry-funded organizations.
Eligibility
Professional development funding is intended for certified early childhood educators who are paid employees of licensed child care programs, as well as family day home program educators working under licensed family day home agencies, who:
- provide direct child care, including program supervisors and alternate supervisors (as defined in the Early Learning and Child Care Regulation), as well as people hired in the role of family child care consultants/coordinators with a licensed family day home agency
- are certified as an early childhood educator Level 1, 2 or 3
- are a Canadian citizen or an official Permanent Resident of Canada
- have worked at least 29 hours in at least one month preceding the date of the expenditure or the date the application was received
Funding rates
Table 3. Professional development funding rates (effective September 1, 2021)
| Professional development type | Funding rate per early childhood educator |
|---|---|
| Post secondary courses | Up to $1,500 per year |
| Workshops and conferences | Up to $500 per year |
Release Time Funding
Release time funding is available to all early childhood educators who are eligible for the professional development funding. This funding allows early childhood educators to be paid while studying, completing post-secondary coursework and/or attending workshops that have been approved for professional development funding. Upon completion of the training, early childhood educators are eligible for release time funding regardless of when training occurs, such as outside of regular working hours. Release time funding is a taxable benefit.
Eligibility
This funding is for early childhood educators who are paid employees of licensed child care programs or family day home program educators working under licensed family day home agencies who:
- are eligible for professional development funding, and
- paid for or enrolled in a post-secondary course, workshop or conference that is approved for professional development funding.
To receive the release time funding, the program is required to submit the Professional Development Funding Request form (PDF, 121 KB).
Funding rates
Table 4. Rate of payment to program per Early Childhood Educator.
| Professional development type | Payment to early childhood educator | Payment to program to offset wage related expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Post secondary courses | Up to $1,600 per fiscal year (based on $800 per 3-credit course to a maximum of 2 courses) | $60 per course |
| Workshops and conferences | Up to $787.50 per year (based on $17.50 per hour to a maximum of 45 hours) | $1.33 per hour (up to 45 hours) |
How To Apply For Funding
Child care programs eligible and interested in receiving the wage top-up, professional development, release time and mandatory employer contribution funding need to sign a grant agreement online in the Child Care Licensing Portal.
Step 1. Review the program guide
Details about eligibility, application process and requirements are included in the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide. Read the guide before applying.
Step 2. Log into the Child Care Licensing Portal account to request, review and sign the grant agreement.
An individual with official signing authority for the child care program must have an account in the Child Care Licensing portal to review and sign the grant agreement.
For instructions on how to create a new account or log into an existing account refer to the Child Care Licensing Portal – Operator Login Guide (PDF, 1.3 MB).
For instructions on how to access and sign the grant agreement for wage top-up and professional development funding refer to the Child Care Licensing Portal– Signing Wage Top-up & PD Grant Agreements (PDF, 880 KB).
After You Apply
Grant Funding Payments
After the grant agreement has been signed, programs will have to submit an online claim after each month to receive wage top-up and mandatory employer contribution funding payments. Find out more about the online child care claims system.
Wage top-ups and the mandatory employer contributions funding will be paid based on the monthly hours claimed by the program.
Professional development and release time funding will be paid based on an approved Professional Development Funding Request as part of the overall child care program deposit when the next monthly claim is processed.
Find out more about the online child care claims system.
Contact
Connect with the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-1119
Toll free: 1-800-661-9754
Email: cs.childcarefunding@gov.ab.ca
The Canada-Alberta Job Grant
The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is a training program where an employer applies on behalf of their employee(s) for eligible training costs. Employers decide who gets training and what type of training may be needed for their employees.
Eligible employers are required to contribute a minimum of one-third of the total training costs for existing employees. The government contributes two-thirds of the cost to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee per fiscal year. If hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs could be covered, up to $15,000 per trainee.
The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is available for direct training costs only, including:
tuition fees or instructional fees charged by the training provider
mandatory student fees
examination fees
textbooks or software
other required materials directly relevant to the training course and distinct from materials required to run the employer’s business
eligible travel cost for participant and trainers (outside of Edmonton and Calgary) when training is over 100km one way for small and medium-sized organizations
Application Guide
