USER GUIDELINES 2016 BUDGET SUBMISSION CHILD CARE CENTRES

Transcription

1 USER GUIDELINES 2016 BUDGET SUBMISSION CHILD CARE CENTRES This version replaces the guidelines previously dated October 2014 For copies of this document, and future updates and/or corrections, please contact Toronto Children's Services 10 th Floor, Metro Hall, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3C6 Tel: Fax: Toronto Children s Services October 2014

2 Table of Contents Purpose and Overview... 3 Budgets and Their Use to Service Providers and the Division... 3 What is Budget Analysis?... 3 City of Toronto Funding Responsibilities... 3 Service Provider/Agency Responsibilities Budget... 4 Service Provider/Agency Responsibilities Finance Budget Submission for Child Care Centres... 7 Changes Under Child Care and Early Years Act... 8 Impact of Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant on 2016 Budget Submission... 9 Central Allocated Administration... 9 Agency Closed Days Centre Operating Days Service Offerings and Public Fees Service Offerings Public Fees Service Offerings and Public Fee Guidelines Changes to Service Offerings Under CCEYA Capacity and Enrolment Changes to Capacity and Enrollment Under the CCEYA Staffing Salary Schedule Other Staffing Costs Revenue and Expenses Revenue Expenses Submission Process Per Diem Payments Post Submission Notes Toronto Children s Services Page 2 of 26

3 Purpose and Overview The primary purpose of these guidelines is to assist the user in understanding the budget process and assist in completing the budget submission accurately. This document also provides an overview of the City s funding responsibilities in the child care field and a brief outline of the budget analysis conducted by the Children s Services Consultant. Budgets and Their Use to Service Providers and the Division Budgets are basic planning tools used by organizations. They provide the user with an overview of operations within an organization. The Children s Services Consultant uses the annual budgets to ensure that service providers to which the City extends funds are accountable for their authorized use. The per diem rates/funding paid to the service providers with whom the City has a Service Contract, are set based on budgeted cost information. As a result, ensuring the reasonableness of the budget information submitted by funded organizations is of critical importance. What is Budget Analysis? Analysis of budgets entails a review by the Consultant of amounts reported in revenue and expense categories by the agency, to ensure reasonableness. Budget analysis also includes a review of the financial health of an organization. The Consultant conducts this analysis based on their knowledge of the child care field and the centre's specific operations. Comparing budgeted amounts to the prior year s approved amounts and actual performance will identify any significant variances requiring follow up. This comparison forms a major portion of analysis. City of Toronto Funding Responsibilities Toronto Children s Services ( TCS ) enters into service contracts with various types of organizations that provide services for children in the City of Toronto. These organizations are required to submit an annual budget for each location funded, which a Children's Services Consultant will analyze: Child Care Centres providing child care services to subsidized children aged 0 12 in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act and regulations, guidelines issued by the Ministry, and TCS s Early Learning and Care Assessment Quality Improvement ( ELCAQI") measure. The centre shall be entitled to payment of an approved per diem cost for providing the service to each subsidized child enrolled at the child care centre, less the fees payable by the subsidized child s parent. Private Home Child Care Agencies providing private home child care services to subsidized children aged 0 12 in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act and regulations, guidelines issued by the Ministry, and TCS s ELCAQI measure. A provider who has entered into an agreement with the agency provides the services in a private residence. The provider agrees to provide private home child care services in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act and related regulations. Toronto Children s Services Page 3 of 26

4 Family Support Programs providing a range of services to children and their caregivers (including parents) which enhance both the quality of care provided in unlicensed child care arrangements and the interaction between children and their caregivers. Services offered include provision of information to caregivers to make informed choices about child care arrangements and options. The City contracts with agencies to provide services to children, families, and the community. This may include drop-in programs, playgroups, workshops, and/or other services. Agencies providing a range of services to children with special needs, including children with behavioural, physical, and/or developmental disabilities or delays. These agencies provide service and support to children with special needs and/or provide support and training to staff, parents, and volunteers in a variety of early childhood settings, which support and increase opportunities for integration of children with special needs. The agency may use the funding to purchase the services of specialized staff to support children with special needs in child care, or to purchase specialized toys and equipment to support the program plan of an individual child with special needs. Summer Day Programs that offer a range of activities during the summer for children in local communities. Agencies contracted to provide these programs must meet the requirements of the City s Standards for Summer Day Programs. Service Provider/Agency Responsibilities Budget All funded service providers must submit a realistic annual budget for each location that receives funding. Preparing a realistic budget begins with using actual revenue earned and actual expenditures incurred in the prior budget year, adjusted to reflect expectations for the current budget year. Completing a budget encourages the organization s management to plan for expenditures, given expected revenue. Organizations must provide required supporting documentation including evidence that indicates reasonableness of allocated expenses, such as rent expense budgeted based on square footage occupied. The Consultant will not accept a deficit budget unless it is accompanied by a well-thought out, realistic business plan that identifies how the deficit will be addressed in the following year. The agency must inform the Consultant immediately of changes to staffing levels, enrolment/capacity levels, or any other changes that may affect the approved budget, such as change in occupancy cost, as these may affect the funding level. The operator/administrator must inform the Children's Services Consultant immediately when decisions are made to implement changes to the fee charged to the public, as there may be an impact on per diem rates. Toronto Children s Services Page 4 of 26

5 The per diem rate paid for the provision of child care services is calculated using the number of days per year. Only certain days are approved for paid closure. Additional days of closure that would lessen the number of days of operation must be agreed upon between the agency and the Consultant at the time of budget submission. No changes to these days will be accommodated after this time. Agencies that make the decision to close the centre/program for days in addition to the number of days approved in the budget will not be paid for these additional days unless prior City approval has been obtained. Any changes to days of operation must be forwarded to the Consultant as soon as possible as changes may have an impact on the calculated per diem rates and payments made to the centre. Service Provider/Agency Responsibilities Finance Financial Management Criteria The Financial Management Criteria is a part of TCS s ELCAQI measure. All service providers with a service contract are required to meet the financial requirements outlined in the Financial Management Criteria, which are available on the Children s Services web site. Audited Financial Statements In accordance with City policies and applicable Provincial guidelines, the City requires an organization to submit audited financial statements once the organization is in receipt of $30,000 of fee subsidy funding from the City in any given year. These financial statements must be completed in a required format and submitted within four months of the fiscal year end, unless otherwise agreed upon with Children's Services. Once an audit is required, the organization will continue to submit audited financial statements in subsequent years. Organizations in receipt of wage subsidy, wage improvement, or pay equity grants totalling $20,000 or greater in any given year are required under the Ontario Child Care Service Management Guidelines, February 15, 2000 and the Day Nurseries Act, Regulation 262, amended to O.Reg. 277/98, Section 1, to submit an audited financial statement to Children s Services on an annual basis. A Special Purpose Report which verifies that wage subsidy has been used for the purpose(s) intended must be included as part of the audit and/or an auditor s report to reconcile wage subsidy entitlement against actual expenditures. The financial statements must be audited in accordance with Canadian Auditing Standards and the financial statements must be prepared using the appropriate accounting standards; e.g. Canadian Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations, Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises, Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, or International Financial Reporting Standards. Canadian generally accepted accounting principles are no longer an appropriate reporting framework. Toronto Children s Services Page 5 of 26

6 The agency should submit the audited financial statements to their Consultant within four months following the fiscal year end. If the agency is unable to meet the deadline, it is responsible for writing to the Consultant to request an extension. Failure to submit the audit will result in sanctions being applied. This may include suspending payment of advances. Organizations may be required to revise and resubmit audited financial statements that do not comply with the Canadian Auditing Standards and/or the appropriate accounting standards. The audited financial statements for organizations that have more than one location or program must include a breakdown of revenue and expenses by location and/or program for the current and previous fiscal years. The statements must also show the surplus/deficit for the beginning and end of the year. Organizations are encouraged to accumulate a surplus not exceeding three months of average operating expenses in order to meet unforeseen contingencies. Organizations are required to submit a plan for the use of any accumulated surplus (that exceeds the recommended amount) identified in the audit for any City funded program. Excess surplus in a given year may result in a recovery if an overpayment has occurred. When an organization has incurred a deficit, a well thought out, realistic business plan that identifies how the deficit will be addressed in the following year must be submitted along with the audit. When an organization receives a management letter from an auditor, the organization is required to submit a copy of the management letter and a copy of management s written response to the auditor. Wage Grants Reporting A Wage Subsidy and Wage Improvement Utilization form must be submitted on an annual basis, usually by mid-january. Details of the utilization of wage subsidy received during the previous year are entered online. This will also include these same reporting requirements for Best Start Wage Improvement funding. A Pay Equity Year to Date Statement must be submitted on annual basis, usually by mid- January for agencies in receipt of proxy pay equity funding pursuant to the April 23, 2003 Memorandum of Settlement. Details of the utilization of pay equity received during the previous year are entered online. Agencies in receipt of the Provincial Wage Enhancement grant must submit a reconciliation form on an annual basis, usually by mid-january. Details of the utilization of the grant received during the previous year are entered online. Toronto Children s Services Page 6 of 26

7 Governance A copy of the Annual General Meeting Minutes must be submitted each year for non-profit agencies. The minutes shall include the approval of previous year s AGM minutes, approval or availability of previous years audited financial statements, election of the Board of Directors and appointment of the auditor. Two Signing Officers are required for cheque signing purposes in a non-profit organization. The Governance Criteria, introduced in 2013, is a new section of TCS s ELCAQI measure and is currently in draft form. The Governance Criteria are available on the Children's Services website. A current list of Board Members, Signing Officers and other agency contacts must be kept current in the Online Services Contacts and User Management tab. Instructions on updating this information can be found in the Contacts and User Management Operator Guide, which is available on the Children's Services web site. Insurance As insurance coverage is renewed, a copy of the updated certificate must be submitted to the Children s Services office at Metro Hall. The current minimum level for general liability insurance is $2 million. This certificate must list all locations in receipt of funding from the City, contain a cross liability clause, and name the City as an additional insured. Documentation A number of supporting documents must be submitted with the annual budget. Failure to submit the required information may result in sanctions being applied. This may include suspending the payment of advances. As per the Agency's service contract with the City, the agency must make all financial and enrolment records available to City staff upon request. The City may request access to the Agency's records any time during the term of the contract and for seven years after the expiry or termination of the contract. Overpayment The agency must inform their Consultant immediately, of any overpayments made by the City and these should be returned to the City within a pre-arranged period Budget Submission for Child Care Centres Agencies must submit a budget for each licensed child care location that receives fee subsidy funding. These guidelines provide users who prepare and submit the budget with an overview of the information that is required in the budget submission. For detailed instructions on using the online budget application, and completing the budget submission, please refer to the Online Budget Application Guide which can be found on the Online Services for Child Care Operators web page. Toronto Children s Services Page 7 of 26

8 Changes Under Child Care and Early Years Act On August 31, 2015 the Ministry of Education implemented the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 ("CCEYA") which replaced the Day Nurseries Act ("DNA"). Many of the regulations under the DNA remain unchanged. For more information on the new legislation, please visit Changes to the ratios for 4-5 year olds and 9-12 year olds impact the service agreement between agencies and TCS. Under the new legislation, providers may choose to operate a kindergarten program with a 1:13 ratio and a school age program for junior school age children (9-12 years old) at a 1:20 ratio. The ratios and group sizes for kindergarten and school age children under the DNA and CCEYA are summarized below: Number of Staff Required Under DNA: Age Grouping Age Range Staff to Child Ratio Maximum Group Size Junior/Senior Kindergarten 44 to 67 months 1:10 20 Senior Kindergarten 56 to 67 months 1:12 24 School Age 68 months to 12 years 1:15 30 Number of Staff Required Under CCEYA: Age Grouping Age Range Staff to Child Ratio Maximum Group Size Kindergarten 44 to 68 months 1:13 26 Primary/Junior school age Junior school age 68 months but younger than 13 years 9 years but younger than 13 years 1: :20 20 All licenses issued under the DNA continue to be in effect until the next license is issued under the CCEYA. Operators can only operate using the new ratios once they have been licensed under the CCEYA; however, they may choose to continue using the ratios under the DNA. Operators who wish to use the 1:13 ratio for 4-5 year olds must notify their Consultant. They do not need to write a formal letter requesting an expansion of their service contract. Operators who wish to use the 1:20 ratio for 9-12 year olds must notify their Consultant and must submit a formal letter requesting an expansion of their service contract. Toronto Children s Services Page 8 of 26

9 TCS will only approve fee subsidy spaces for the new 1:20 ratio for 9-12 year olds if the operator has applied for an expansion of their service contract and meet the following two conditions: 1. operators offering a program for children aged 9 to 12 must also operate a corresponding program for 6 to 8 year olds on the same premises; and 2. during instructional days there must be a second available qualified staff person who is an employee of the agency onsite. Operators who operate using the new ratios must reflect the new ratios and group sizes in their 2016 budget. Changes have been made to service offerings and public fees (tab 2) and capacity and enrollment (tab 3) in the online budget application to accommodate the new ratios. For more information please refer to the sections on pages 14 and 16. Impact of Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant on 2016 Budget Submission The Provincial Wage Enhancement was announced by the Provincial Government in January The grant is intended to support a wage enhancement in licensed child care of up to $1 per hour in 2015 plus 17.5 per cent benefits to eligible child care program staff, with an additional increase in The grant is separately funded from the per diem payments an agency receives. The Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant is paid to eligible staff working in a licensed child care centre in addition to their existing salaries. The amount of the grant an agency receives, and the amount paid to its staff is not consistent from year to year. The agency must submit an annual application, and the amount paid to the agency will fluctuate depending on the number of eligible positions and the hours worked by staff in the previous year. Increases to staff's base salaries, or changes to their position may impact the staff's eligibility for the grant. Due to the uncertainty regarding the amount of grant the agency and its staff will receive from year to year, any and all amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant a centre receives and pays to its staff are to be excluded from the 2016 budget submission. For additional information, please refer to the Staffing and Revenue and Expense sections of these guidelines. Central Allocated Administration Organizations with multiple sites may include centralized administration costs actually incurred and allocated to the locations that are funded. These costs will be reviewed for reasonableness as part of the budget analysis process. The agency must provide clear evidence that supports this allocation and indicate its reasonableness. Administration costs must be detailed listing staff name, job duties, total salaries, total days/hours worked, and a percentage of salaries allocated to the child care centres. The onus of providing this detail belongs to the agency. The Consultant will review the information provided to determine the reasonableness of the administration costs allocated to each location. To include these costs, the Central Allocated Administration tab must be completed in the Online Budget application. It is recommended to complete the Central Allocated Administration tab prior to completing the location budgets in order to set up an administration salary pool that can then be allocated to each location. Toronto Children s Services Page 9 of 26

10 The amount entered in the column "% allocated to child care" to establish the total salary pool should only reflect the administration costs allocated to the child care centres. Agencies who submit budgets to Children's Services for Home Child Care, Family Support Programs, or Special Needs Resourcing Programs should not allocate administration costs related to those programs in the total central allocated administration salary pool. Administrators who are absent from the centre for part of the year must provide details of the administrative functions performed throughout the year that warrant an annual salary. Agency Closed Days Organizations with multiple sites can enter designated statutory holidays and additional closed days for all locations under the Agency Stat Holidays and Days Closed tab. Entries made here will default to the Centre Operating Days in individual location budgets. The general rules for agency closed days is the same as the general rules for centre operating days. In order to ensure all placements (admissions, flips, withdrawals, etc.), payments, and attendance are processed correctly for 2016, the Agency Closed Days and/or Centre Operating Days Tabs must be completed no later than December 11, Centre Operating Days General Rules TCS will only pay for approved days where service is provided. Only certain days are approved for "paid" closure. The maximum operating days will be 261 in The number of days that the centre remains closed will be deducted from the maximum days applicable to the year to determine operating days for the year. Any changes to days of operation must be forwarded to the Consultant as soon as possible as changes may have an impact on rates being paid to the centre, and therefore payments. Designated Holidays Payment will be made for designated holidays (New Year s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Boxing Day) provided the child is enrolled during this period and parent fees are charged for the designated holiday. A centre will be paid for a designated statutory holiday if either care is provided the day before or the day after the designated holiday and provided parent fees are charged for those days. If there are two consecutive designated holidays, payment will be made for both days, provided care is available the day before or the day after the two consecutive designated holidays, and parents fees are charged. Toronto Children s Services Page 10 of 26

11 If statutory holidays are on a weekend, a centre may designate an alternate day on which the centre is closed and the alternate day must be specified in the budget submission. The alternate day of closure must be scheduled within a period that is no more than two weeks prior to the statutory holiday, or no more than two weeks following the statutory holiday. The alternate day that is designated must also be scheduled within the same calendar year as the statutory holiday. The centre must inform the Consultant if the days differ and an adjustment will be made so that correct payment can occur. For 2016, the City has designated Tuesday, December 27, 2016 as the designated holiday in lieu of Christmas Day; however, agencies may designate a different day between December 13, 2016 and December 31, Service Offerings and Public Fees The mix of programs a centre provides, and the fees charged to the public are used directly in the calculation of an agency's per diem rates. The Children's Services Consultant requires specific detail relating to a centre's service offerings and public fees to complete their analysis of the centre's budget. In order to ensure all placements (admissions, flips, withdrawals, etc.), payments, and attendance are processed correctly for 2016, the Service Offerings and Public Fees tab must be completed no later than December 11, Service Offerings A Service Offering is a description of the services captured on the centre s public fee memo. Service offerings capture the age group served, the days the service is provided, the times the service is provided, and any indicators of an alternate fee type; e.g. employee rate, student rate, higher fee charged for non-instructional days. Service offerings are required for the placement of children with fee subsidy at a child care centre. These descriptions are standardized and the online budget and attendance systems use the service offering details to perform calculations for budget and payment. When a centre has a new program, or is no longer offering a service, the agency must notify their Budget Coordinator to add or delete the service offering. Each service offering in the budget system must have a rate that matches the centre s public fee memo. The list of service offerings entered in the Children's Services system can be viewed by a Budget Preparer or Signing Authority through Online Services by clicking on the Registry tab, clicking on the Group Centre and Service Offering links, and then selecting a location to view the service offerings listed. To confirm the days and periods the system has recorded for each offering, click on the Details link. Finally, it is important to verify the service offerings listed reconciles with the public fee memo. Toronto Children s Services Page 11 of 26

12 If a service offering has any incorrect details, the agency must contact their Budget Coordinator to have the corrections made. Further detail on standardization of service offerings is available on the Online Services for Child Care Operators web page. Public Fees Children's Services will not pay a per diem rate higher than the public fee charged to full fee-paying parents at a centre. All agencies must submit a signed copy of the public fee memo with their budget submission. The fee memo must be signed by a Signing Officer of the agency. Children's Services will not accept fee memos signed by an individual who is not listed on the Form 1 Ontario Corporation Schedule A, filed with the Ministry of Government Services. The public fee memo must include the following information: list of the programs (or service offerings) the centre provides for each age group; the days of the week each program is provided; the hours of the day that care is provided for each program; the fee charged for each program; if applicable, any fee changes that will occur throughout the calendar year, including the effective date of the change; if applicable, the alternate fee charged for each program (e.g. employee rate, student rate, etc.); if applicable, the higher fee charged on non-instructional days (PD Days, Easter Monday, March break, December and January holiday breaks) when children aged 4-12 years require full-day care; and if applicable, the days the centre is closed, or specific programs are not available. The information listed above is considered in the calculation of the per diem rate paid to a centre and will be verified by the Consultant for accuracy. Failure to disclose any of the information above in the fee memo may result in a recovery of any overpayment made to the centre. The agency must inform their Consultant immediately when decisions are made to implement changes to the fee charged to the public, as there may be an impact on per diem rates. A revised, signed fee memo must also be submitted. The Consultant will use this information to determine if an adjustment to the per diem rate is required. Toronto Children s Services Page 12 of 26

13 Service Offerings and Public Fee Guidelines When determining what service offerings the agency will provide to families and the fees charged, the agency should comply with the following guidelines: Fees charged for each age group and each program should be reflective of the costs of providing such care. For example: o o Fees set for programs for younger age groups should reflect the higher costs associated with operating the programs with a higher staff to child ratio. Similarly, fees set for programs for older age groups should reflect the lower costs associated with operating programs with a lower staff to child ratio. Centres who charge the same fee for two or more age groups are required to establish a fee for each age group that accurately reflects the cost of the service and the hours of care provided to each group. Where this applies, agencies must contact their Consultant, who will support them with unblending fees prior to 2016 budget submission. Fees set for full-time or full-day programs should reflect a higher cost of care when compared to the fees set for part-time or part-day programs. Centres who charge the same fee for 12 months for kindergarten or school age programs are required to establish a fee for the school year and a separate fee for the summer that accurately reflects the cost of the service and the hours of care provided. Where this applies, agencies must contact their Consultant, who will support them with unblending fees prior to 2016 budget submission. Unblended fees must be revenue neutral. i.e. the total annual revenue calculated using the new unblended fees cannot be greater than the total annual revenue calculated using the previous blended fees. If the public fee memo indicates fees are charged monthly, the fees and any fee increases must be effective from the first day of the month to the last day of the month. Monthly fees are fixed and do not change based on the number of paid operating days in each month. If the public fee memo indicates fees are charged weekly, the fees and any fee increases must be effective from the beginning of the week to the end of the week, e.g. Sunday to Saturday, or Monday to Sunday. Centres that provide before and after school care for children aged 4 to 12 years must provide a corresponding summer camp program to ensure families have access to yearround care. Centres who do not provide a camp program must demonstrate to the Consultant that there is insufficient demand to operate an efficient camp program by surveying families on an annual basis. Centres that operate a summer camp must have a fee memo that reflects the lower fee during the school year and the higher fee during the summer. The camp fee will be used to calculate the camp rate paid for the summer months. Toronto Children s Services Page 13 of 26

14 Children's Services will not pay a camp per diem rate for the Labour Day holiday. Accordingly, all summer camps must end no later than the Sunday before the Labour Day holiday, i.e. Sunday, September 4, If the summer camp fee is listed as a monthly charge, the start and end dates of the summer camp program entered into the online budget application must be the first and last day of a month, respectively. When the last day of school is earlier than June 30 th and Labour Day is later than September 1 st, summer camp programs can start earlier than July 1 st and end later than August 31 st. If the camp fee listed on the fee memo is a monthly charge, Children's Services cannot pay the camp per diem rate for any period earlier than July 1 st, or any period later than August 31 st. In order for an agency to receive the camp per diem rate for the full duration of their camp program, the camp fee listed on the fee memo should be changed to a daily fee. As a result of the full implementation of FDK, all 4-5 year olds are expected to attend FDK on instructional days. The service offering previously used for children that attended half-day kindergarten was discontinued and is only used by exception. All 4 to 12 year old children are expected to remain at school for the lunch period on instructional days. TCS will only approve new contracts (or expansions of existing contracts) for before and after school care for 4-12 year olds and will no longer purchase offerings that include a lunch period (lunch and/or supervision). Changes to Service Offerings Under CCEYA There is no change to kindergarten service offerings as a result of the introduction of the CCEYA on August 31, The existing kindergarten service offerings will apply, regardless of whether a service provider operates a kindergarten program at a 1:10, 1:12, or 1:13 ratio. New service offerings are available for operators who are licensed to operate a junior school age program for children aged 9 12 years at a 1:20 ratio. New service offerings are required to distinguish the difference between programs offered for children aged 6-8 years, and programs offered for children aged 9-12 years. The service offerings are: Children Aged 6-8 Years: 1351 SA 6-8 YRS, Before School, After School; 1352 SA 6-8 YRS Before School; 1352 SA 6-8 YRS After School; 1359 SA 6-8 YRS Summer Camp Children Aged 9-12 Years: 1361 SA 9-12 YRS Before School, After School; 1362 SA 9-12 YRS Before School; 1362 SA 9-12 YRS After School; YRS Summer Camp Toronto Children s Services Page 14 of 26

15 Capacity and Enrolment The operating capacity of a centre, and the mix of enrolment in the service offerings for each age group, are used directly in the calculation of an agency's per diem rates. In addition, the operating capacities for each age group directly affect the placement of subsidized children, the generation of online attendance, and payment for service. In order to ensure all placements (admissions, flips, withdrawals, etc.), payments, and attendance are processed correctly for 2016, the Capacity and Enrollment tab must be completed no later than December 11, General Rules Service providers should plan to operate efficiently; i.e. total enrolment in each room should equal the total operating capacity of the room for at least one period of the day. In June 1993, Metro Council made a decision to no longer pay for vacancies. Therefore, the recommended per diem rate is based on an optimal enrolment, which is an average of 98% of the operating capacity for the centre. The optimal enrolment rule is only applicable to a room licensed and/or operating efficiently. If the room is licensed and/or operating inefficiently, the optimal enrolment of 100% is required. For example, a school age room that is licensed and operating with 24 children will have the per diem calculated at 100%. The budget application will calculate optimal enrolment based on the above. Service providers should NOT enter optimal values in the budget application. Where a centre operates a third party before and after school FDK program, enrolment for third party service offerings can only be entered in rooms designated as a third party room. No other service offerings can operate in a third party room, and third party offerings cannot be entered in any other room. The capacity and enrolment tab in the online budget captures the following information: The licensed capacity is the maximum number of children by age group that can be enrolled in a room based on the information contained in the license. The operating capacity is the number of children the age group is staffed for, as stipulated by the staff/child ratio for the age group. For example, a preschool room licensed for 24, operating at a 1:8 ratio requires three full time staff. Each room in a centre is licensed to a maximum number of children. The minimum staff to child ratio is legislated by the Child Care and Early Years Act. Ratios of program staff to children are based on the operating capacity of a room. The enrolment by service offering is the number of children the centre expects to be enrolled in each service offering for the specific room. The number of children identified for each service offering will allow service providers to project the total amount of revenue in parent fees that may be generated. Toronto Children s Services Page 15 of 26

16 The service offerings available in a specific room are determined by the age category the room is licensed for and/or the staffing ratio of the room. For example: o o A room licensed for kindergarten and operating at a kindergarten ratio will only have kindergarten service offerings available. A room licensed for preschool and operating at a 1:8 ratio can have preschool and kindergarten service offerings available since kindergarten is a subset of the licensed preschool group. Changes to Capacity and Enrollment Under the CCEYA Operators may elect to use the ratios under the DNA or the new ratios under the CCEYA. Operators who are licensed under the CCEYA may choose to operate kindergarten rooms at a 1:10, 1:12, or 1:13 ratio. Operators who have rooms licensed for school age and operating at a 1:15 ratio will have school age service offerings for 6-8 year old children and 9-12 year old children. However, operators who have licensed school age rooms operating at a 1:20 ratio will only have school age service offerings for 9-12 year old children available. Staffing Salaries, wages, and benefit costs compose a large majority of expenses in a service organization. Therefore, the Children s Services Consultant will focus their attention in this area and require specific detail relating to this category to complete their analysis. The distribution of grants to individual staff must meet the funding requirements. For the purposes of calculating an agency's per diem rates, total staff salaries including grants cannot exceed the maximum salary paid by the City for equivalent job classifications. The maximum salaries are listed in the 2016 Salary Schedule below, which includes all wage grants except the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant, which should not be included in the 2016 budget submission. As per City policy, the maximum allowable salary for an untrained staff is 5% less than the entry-level salary for a trained staff, regardless of years of services. Untrained staff salaries may be allowed to be above the City s maximum only in circumstances where a copy of the pay equity plan on file supports this claim. Toronto Children s Services Page 16 of 26

17 2016 Salary Schedule Note: Salaries are subject to settlement of compensation for City of Toronto staff. PROGRAM STAFF ANNUAL SALARY HOURLY SALARY Untrained Staff or Assistant (35 hour week) This is a maximum allowable amount for budget purposes, not an actual category for City Staff. The untrained staff at City operated centres is paid under the category of Casual / Supply. $51,627 $28.26 Trained Teaching Staff (35 hour week) Early Childhood Educator Grade 2 or equivalent trained $54,344 to $59,552 $29.74 to $32.60 Trained Teaching Staff (35 hour week) Early Childhood Educator Grade 1 / Assistant Supervisor or equivalent trained Centre Supervisor (35 hours week) $60,465 to $66,243 $33.10 to $36.26 $84,995 to $99,869 $46.52 to $54.66 Casuals/Supply Staff Trained $29.74 to $32.60 Untrained Cook/Housekeeper (40 hours week) Food Services Worker (Dietary Aide) (40 hours week) Administration (35 hour week) $16.20 $52,853 to $57,958 $25.31 to $27.76 $47,509 to $52,028 $22.75 to $24.92 $107,317 $58.74 Toronto Children s Services Page 17 of 26

18 Standard Work Hours The standard work hours are the hours the majority of staff work in a day. This is important for staffing calculations. Staff Plan The base salary (exclusive of grants) for all staff must meet minimum wage as set out by the Ministry of Labour. Effective October 1, 2015 the minimum wage is $11.25 per hour. The budget must demonstrate compliance to the minimum staff to child ratio for the number of children enrolled in the service offerings. In addition, the minimum number of RECE staff required in a room as legislated by the CCEYA must be included in the staffing plan. The City recognizes that some additional staff may be required above the minimum standard, for operational reasons such as a 10 or 11-hour operating day. Service providers who include program staff above the maximum allowable will be required to enter an explanation so the Consultant can determine the reasonableness of the request. The gross hourly wage including all wage grants is required to calculate staff salaries in the budget. Contracted Wage Grants from Schedule K, M, P, must be allocated in the budget in one sum to all employees who are in receipt of this funding. Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant should not be included in the gross hourly wage. Positions in the budget include administration, supervisor, second supervisor, RECE, assistant, cook/ housekeeper, caretaker/cleaner, supervisor acting as RECE, and "other". One staff may work in more than one position. Salaried Administration (ADM) A full time administrator salary will be allowed for a centre with an operating capacity of 90 children or more. The full time salary will be prorated for a centre with lower capacity and compared to actual administrative salaries paid. The allowable administrative salary will be the lower of the pro-rated or actual salary. More than one individual involved in administrative duties could share this maximum allowable administrative salary. Administrators who are absent from the centre for part of the year must provide details of the administrative functions performed throughout the year that warrant an annual salary. Supervisor (SUP) Allowable supervisory hours can only be determined once the capacity and enrolment for the centre is complete. In a centre with fewer than 5 full time teaching staff to meet CCEYA ratio requirements, the supervisor may be considered as one of the full time program staff (on the pick list select Supervisor Acting as ECE ). In a centre with five or more but less than seven full time teaching staff, the supervisor may be a program staff for ½ of the time and conducting supervisory functions for the remainder of the time. A centre with more than seven full-time teaching staff must have a full time supervisor at all times. Toronto Children s Services Page 18 of 26

19 In a centre where a supervisor is not required full time, the supervisor can be partly allocated to supervisor (on the pick list, select "Sup" for position), and/or administration (on the pick list, select "ADM" for position) and/or program (on the pick list, select Supervisor Acting as RECE ) depending on the number of hours actually spent in performing each responsibility. Second Supervisor (SUP2) Where a term and condition on the centre s license requires an additional supervisor off program, the second supervisor should be allocated only for the hours indicated on the license. In this case, the service provider must provide an explanation and Consultant will review the details of the request to determine reasonableness. Program Staff ECE, Supervisor Acting as ECE (SECE), and Assistant (ASST) The budget must include sufficient program staff to meet the child/staff ratio required for the number of children by each service offering in each room. Each staff entry for these positions must indicate the hours and days the staff works with each age group. Staff working with one age group for the same number of hours throughout the year should only be entered once; i.e. PS staff working 7 hours/day for 261 days. Staff working with one age group whose hours fluctuate throughout the year can be entered once if the hours worked are averaged over the total days worked in the budget year, or multiple times to reflect the fluctuations; i.e. SA staff that works 5 hours per day during the school year and 7 hours per day during summer can be entered as working 5.39 hours/day for 261 days, or as working 5 hours/day for 210 days and 7 hours/day for 51 days. Staff working with more than one age group must be entered multiple times to reflect the hours/day and days/year worked with each age group; i.e. staff that splits their time equally between infants and toddlers can be entered as working 3.5 hours/day for 261 days with infants and 3.5 hours/day for 261 days with toddlers. Housekeeper/Cook (HK) Where the centres food is catered, a full time housekeeper salary is not allowed. A part-time salary may be allowed for washing dishes and other related duties. Note that in most instances, for centres with less than about 60 children, catering is more cost efficient. However, smaller centres that have infants and toddlers may benefit from having a cook on site. This is a decision that should be made by the centre based on affordability, and the Children s Services Consultant can only ensure through discussions that options have been considered prior to decision-making. Caretaker/Cleaner (CT) The salary charged should be reasonable based on the size of centre and hourly wage when a comparison is made with similar-sized centres. Contracted caretaking costs, i.e. non-salary costs, should be recorded in the Other Staffing Cost section of the budget under Contracted Caretaker/Cleaner. Toronto Children s Services Page 19 of 26

20 Other This position will capture positions other than those previously listed that are not funded in per diems i.e. bus driver. When this position code is used, user must provide an explanation of the position, justification for requesting funding for this position, or clarify if this position is funded through another source. Other Staffing Costs Contracted Administration This category includes non-salary contracted services, i.e. bookkeeping/accounting services and is included in the maximum allowable administration costs. Contracted services are not eligible for wage subsidy. For information on central allocated administration, please refer to the section on page 9. Staff Benefits Employer contributions are allowable in the budget up to a maximum of 25% of total projected payroll salaries of staff, including casual staff. The amount budgeted for staff benefits should not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Supply Staff Up to 10 % of the total payroll salary costs for staff excluding administration is allowed under this category to recognize the cost of hiring supply staff to replace regular program staff that are absent or on vacation. Note: Salaried Supply Staff versus Contracted Supply Staff Salaried Supply Staff are staff who are employed by the agency and will receive a T4 or T4A from the agency. Contracted Supply Staff are staff who are not considered to be employed by the agency, are hired through an outside agency, and the Centre pays for the agency for this service through an invoice. Contracted Caretaker/Cleaner This category includes non-salary contracted cleaning costs. Contracted services are not eligible for wage subsidy. Wage Grants Includes Wage Subsidy and Prior 1998 Pay Equity from the agency Schedule K, Pay Equity from the agency Schedule M, Wage Improvement Funding from the agency Schedule P. Under the new funding model, historical wage subsidy will be replaced by the General Operating Grant ("GOG"). Implementation of the new model will start in 2016 and occur over three years. Toronto Children s Services Page 20 of 26

21 Due to the multi-year implementation strategy, all agencies will continue to receive the current level of wage subsidy in Agencies must ensure they comply with the distribution requirements in the Wage Subsidy Policy and Guidelines for Service Providers. Staff are not eligible for wage grants for any portion of the day spent working in a third party kindergarten program. Third party programs are not eligible for any wage subsidies (DOG, WEG, and Prior 1998 Pay Equity Grant). The total Salary Grants must match the amounts in the Revenue Tab of the budget and the Schedule K, M and P. Multi Site agencies may not redistribute salary grants because of a change in operating capacity. All requests to redistribute salary grants must be submitted to Children s Services in writing and will be considered in accordance with the principles in the Service Plan. Note: commercial agencies do not receive pay equity grants. Pay equity amounts for staff in commercial centres should be included in base salary amounts. The total salary grants budgeted for 2016 should not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Revenue and Expenses When completing Tab 5 of the online budget, the actual revenue/expenses reported in Column B, and the budgeted revenue/expenses reported in Column C should not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Revenue Approved Prior shows the amount approved in the prior budget. Actual Reported is for reporting actual revenue from January to December 2015, (actual revenue to date and forecast for balance of year). Budget is for reporting estimated revenue based on current City funding and other revenue sources for Parent Fees includes full fee and parent portion of fee subsidy. Fee subsidy revenue should be based on current funding levels. For example, fee subsidy revenue should be based on per diem rates in effect at the time when the budget is submitted. Wage Subsidy includes DOG & WEG and Prior 1998 Pay Equity Grant. The total Wage Subsidy amount will be equal to the total amount in Schedule K of the agency s Service Contract. For multisite/ multi-program agency, the aggregated total of all sites/programs should be equal to the total amount on the Schedule K. Wage Subsidy funding does not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Toronto Children s Services Page 21 of 26

22 Base Pay Equity Grant includes the following four amounts: Compounded Base 1% Liability; 2003/04 1% Base Liability; Estimated 2004/05 1% Base Liability with Compounding and April December % Base Liability. The total Base Pay Equity Grant for an agency should match the agency s Schedule M. The total of Base Pay Equity amount should be equal to the total amount in Schedule M of the agency s service contract. For multi-site/multi-program agencies, the aggregated total of all sites/programs should be equal to the agency s total amounts. Agencies with fiscal years that do not end on December 31 st should use the calendar year for budget purposes. Wage Improvement Grant reflects the Provincial Best Start initiative Wage Improvement funding that is anticipated for a minimum of 4 years. In June 2006, Toronto City Council adopted the principle that Wage Improvement funds should be used to attract and retain Early Childhood Educators and untrained staff, and to support the establishment of a wage scale for program staff. Conditions of this funding are listed here. Agencies receiving this funding must: Have developed, implemented, and provided the City of Toronto with a salary scale for the agency. The salary scale must outline progressive levels of pay for eligible staff positions. Ensure Wage Improvement funds are used to improve wages of program staff. Program staff are defined as trained and untrained staff working directly with the children and included in the child/staff ratios as defined by the CCEYA. Implement salary adjustments in a way that respects organizational pay scale, collective agreements, and pay equity plans. Meet all reporting and accountability requirements as set out by the City of Toronto. A portion of the wage improvement grant is permitted to be used to cover the cost of mandatory benefits. This amount cannot exceed a maximum of 10% of the salary portion of the grant. Wage Improvement Grant does not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Other Salary Grants includes any salary or wage grants funded from other sources, i.e. salary grants from Human Resource Development Canada. It does not include any amounts relating to the Provincial Wage Enhancement Grant. Minor Capital Funding includes Health and Safety Minor Capital funding grants received in 2015 and report under Minor Capital, Actual Reported Transitional Funding includes Early Learning Transition Capital Funding Grants, Business Transformation Grants, Child Care Stabilization Grants, or Infant & Toddler Transitional Grants. Centres that received funding for any of these grants in 2015 should report the funding under Transitional Funding, Actual Reported Centres that received the Infant & Toddler Transitional Grant should ensure that the amount reported as parent fee revenue does not include any portion of the grant that was applied to reduce eligible parents' paid fees. Toronto Children s Services Page 22 of 26