Canadian Child Care Federation
Rethinking Family Childcare Licensing
Facing a critical shortage of licensed childcare spaces, Saskatchewan needed a new approach to support both long-standing and newcomer providers. CCCF and Opus Group led a collaborative effort to turn licensing challenges into a new, scalable model for family childcare.
How do you expand access to licensed family childcare while removing systemic barriers for both newcomer and long-standing providers?
Through the Future Skills Centre’s Newcomer Integration Solutions Design Table, the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) and Opus Group facilitated a collaborative design process with sector leaders, associations, and providers to surface licensing challenges, review proven models, and co-develop a solution tailored to Saskatchewan’s context.
Sector partners aligned on the Contracted Agency Family Child Care Model as the most effective way to expand access, strengthen supports, and ensure quality. Together, they mapped out what the model could look like in Saskatchewan and defined the steps to design, fund, and test it as a pilot. The approach emphasizes equity and inclusion, ensuring services reflect Saskatchewan’s diverse communities.
Saskatchewan faces a critical shortage of licensed childcare spaces. Family childcare is a high-potential solution, but providers, including many newcomers, face significant barriers to entering and thriving in the sector.
Key challenges:
CCCF was engaged as the lead organization, with the Saskatchewan Early Child Care and Learning Leadership Caucus forming the core working group. Together with Opus Group, the initiative:
The project delivered:
This initiative demonstrates how sector-led, participatory design can reimagine regulatory systems to meet today’s workforce and community needs. By aligning licensing pathways with provider realities, Saskatchewan can expand childcare capacity, strengthen quality, and make the sector more accessible to all - including newcomers eager to contribute their skills. Importantly, the model also supports inclusive, diverse, and equitable services for children and families across Saskatchewan, ensuring quality care reflects the communities it serves.
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