Ministry of Education
Early Years and Child Care Division
315 Front Street West, 11th floor
Toronto ON M5V 3A4
TO: Child Care Licensees
FROM: Boafoa Kwamena, Director
Child Care Quality Assurance and Licensing Branch
DATE: February 14, 2022
SUBJECT: Updates to Covid-19 Reporting in Licensed Child Care
Thank you for your continued dedication to ensuring the health and safety of children in licensed child care. As we adapt our pandemic response to the evolving health environment, I am writing to notify you of updates made to COVID-19 reporting requirements.
As you are aware, the Ministry of Health made changes to the provincial case, contact and outbreak management approach, resulting in an end to routine notification of confirmed cases to families in schools and child care settings.
In addition, and on the advice of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH), the Ministry of Education has suspended public reporting of COVID-19 cases in child care.
COVID-19 Reporting
In alignment with the changes to the reporting noted above, O. Reg. 137/15 (General) under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA) has been amended so that licensees are no longer required to report confirmed cases of COVID-19 as a serious occurrence to the Ministry of Education. The Child Care Licensing System (CCLS) will be updated to reflect this change.
O. Reg. 137/15 has also been amended to remove the following requirements from a licensee’s COVID-19 health and safety policy:
- An explanation of how confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 would be reported; and
- An explanation of how confirmed cases or an outbreak of COVID-19 would be communicated to parents.
Licensees are encouraged to review their COVID-19 health and safety policy to ensure
protocols are up to date and to notify parents of any ongoing changes.
To continue to support ongoing monitoring and transparency related to COVID-19 impacts on child care, licensees are still required to report program closures related to COVID-19 where they result in an “Unplanned Disruption of Service” to the normal operation of a child care centre or home child care agency in the CCLS.
- For licensed child care centres, this represents any closure impacting the entire centre.
- For licensed home child care agencies, this represents any closure impacting an entire home child care premises.
Please note that serious occurrence reporting is required when a licensee closes voluntary or when a local Public Health Unit has ordered the closure.
Your Program Advisor will be sending you additional technical information on submitting serious occurrences for closures related to COVID-19 shortly.
COVID-19 Operational Guidance
Please also be advised that the COVID-19 child care operational guidance, before and after school program guidance and EarlyON operational guidance documents have been updated to reflect recent updates to health and safety measures. Note that the above regulatory amendments on COVID-19 reporting will be reflected in a future update.
Here is a quick summary of the updates:
Under Health and Safety Requirements - Health and Safety Protocols:
- Addition of the section on Immunization Disclosure Policy
- Update to use of masks and other personal protective equipment to include the option of non-fit tested N95 masks for adults and the condition that children should stay within their cohort as much as possible during breaks outdoors
- Change to monitoring and responding to reports of COVID-19 symptoms to direct providers/licensees to the provincial COVID-19 screening tool and the Ministry of Health’s Interim Guidance for Schools and Child Care Omicron Surge for symptom screening, monitoring and isolation procedures
- Change to reporting and serious occurrence reporting and outbreak management to direct to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19: Interim Guidance for Schools and Child Care: Omicron Surge Guidance
Under Operational Guidance - In-program Considerations:
- Update on conditions for permitted physical activities
- Change to space set-up and physical distancing on conditions for permitting singing indoors
COVID 19: Operational guidance for child care
Before and after school programs kindergarten to grade 6: policies and guidelines for school boards
COVID-19: Operational guidance for EarlyON Child and Family Centres
Sincerely,
Boafoa Kwamena