Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029)
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The City of Ottawa Children’s Services is in the process of updating the local Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan for the next five years (2025-2029). This plan will act as a road map to identify priorities and set-out actions to meet the vision of an accessible, affordable, high quality, equitable and inclusive Early Learning and Child Care system by addressing local needs.
What we hear during engagement opportunities, as well as through a review of demographic and service data, will help to establish the strategic priorities for our city to respond and better meet the needs of children and families in Ottawa. It will also ensure a strong foundation for the future as child care and early years initiatives continue to evolve and align with the on-going implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system.
The development of the Children’s Services Service System Plan is aligned with the City of Ottawa Strategic plan (2023-2026) and specifically supports the strategic objective to "Simplify access to social services to support those in need, including housing, employment and child-care services."
The City of Ottawa Children’s Services is in the process of updating the local Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan for the next five years (2025-2029). This plan will act as a road map to identify priorities and set-out actions to meet the vision of an accessible, affordable, high quality, equitable and inclusive Early Learning and Child Care system by addressing local needs.
What we hear during engagement opportunities, as well as through a review of demographic and service data, will help to establish the strategic priorities for our city to respond and better meet the needs of children and families in Ottawa. It will also ensure a strong foundation for the future as child care and early years initiatives continue to evolve and align with the on-going implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system.
The development of the Children’s Services Service System Plan is aligned with the City of Ottawa Strategic plan (2023-2026) and specifically supports the strategic objective to "Simplify access to social services to support those in need, including housing, employment and child-care services."
As Children’s Services works to update the Service System Plan it is important that we hear from parents, families, and caregivers and those expecting a child. Feedback will help identify community priorities, strengths, challenges or gaps, and areas for action.
Your feedback will help ensure we are setting appropriate priorities for the next five years. The survey can be accessed and completed using the links below. The survey will remain open until April 10th, 2024.
We are committed to ensuring that all participants can access and complete this survey. If you require accommodations, please email childrensservices@ottawa.caby adding “Caregiver Child Care and Early Years Survey - accommodations” to your subject line.
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The City of Ottawa and Children’s Services want to hear from you! Help shape child care and EarlyON services in Ottawa.
Together with several different partners across Ottawa, Children’s Services is working to coordinate focus groups to hear from parents and caregivers about their diverse experiences and needs related to child care and EarlyON services.
At this time, Children’s Services is looking to learn more about the child care and early years experiences from the following population groups:
Parents and caregivers of children aged 0 to 12with special needs
2SLGBTQ+ parents and caregivers with children aged 0 to 12
Francophone families, parents and caregivers of children aged 0 to 12
Parents and caregivers of children aged 0 to 12 with disabilities
Please check back as more focus groups are added!
If you are interesting in participating in a focus group, please email ChildrensServices@ottawa.ca, and include in the subject line: “Family Focus Group.”
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Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) has finished this stage
Environmental scan
Complete an environmental scan and gather relevant data from the early years and child care sector for analysis.
Fall 2023 – Winter 2024
Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) has finished this stage
Resident and Community Engagement
Engage with families, child care and early years service providers, as well as community organizations through surveys, focus groups, and interviews to identify potential priorities and actions.
Winter 2024 – Spring 2024
Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) has finished this stage
Data Analysis & Drafting the Service System Plan
Analyze and report back what we heard through engagement opportunities.
Draft strategic priorities and actions for the 2025-2029 Service System Plan for further consultation.
Spring – Summer 2024
Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) has finished this stage
Engagement to finalize a draft Service System Plan
Engagement with the child care and early years communities to validate the draft Service System Plan and collaborate to determine annual actions.
Fall 2024
Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) is currently at this stage
Approval of the Service System Plan (2025-2029)
Seek approval of the Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan (2025-2029) by City Council.
Service System Plan 2025-2029: What We Heard Reports