CALGARY, ALBERTA / ACCESS Newswire / June 26, 2025 / Alberta's childcare system is about to undergo a major shift - and it starts with every licensed provider registering all children in a new provincial system by June 26, 2025. This critical step, tied directly to both licensing compliance and funding eligibility, marks the beginning of the province's transition to the new Claims Submission Service (CSS) under the Child Care Accountability Program.
Kindergarten Teacher With Children
The Ministry of Education and Childcare announced on Tuesday, June 17, that the CSS will launch in phases. Beginning July 2, only a select group of approximately 350 childcare programs will submit their June claims through the new system. On Aug. 1, the rest of the sector will shift over to submit July claims.
This phased rollout is part of Alberta's broader move toward digitizing childcare operations - modernizing how providers manage compliance, maintain staff and family records, and submit monthly Affordability Grant claims.
A Shift Toward Digitization
This new portal aligns with changes introduced on April 1, 2025, when Alberta transitioned to a $15/day flat-fee model under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare (CWELCC) agreement. While simplifying fees for families across the province, this transition places significant new responsibilities on childcare centres.
To comply, centers must now upload and maintain detailed records within the new Childcare Licensing Portal, including:
For Children and Families:
Child names, birthdates, and registration start/end dates
Parent names and contact information
Registered hours vs. attended hours (monthly)
For Staff:
Staff names and contact details
Employment dates and ECE certification numbers
Monthly payroll hours
In addition, operators must submit monthly claims that reflect the difference between each child's approved gross monthly fee (entered into the system) and the government-mandated parent fee caps:
$326.25 cap for children registered 100+ hours/month
$230.00 cap for children registered 50-99 hours/month
Operators are also permitted to charge supplemental fees for non-core services that are not covered by the $15/day model. These may include:
Meals and snacks
Field trips and outings
Extracurricular or enrichment programs
Credit card processing fees (merchant fees)
To support the transition, the Alberta government has hosted group training sessions in recent months, helping operators learn to navigate the new system requirements.
How Operators are Keeping Up
As this shift places new demands on data tracking and monthly reporting, many childcare operators are turning to management software to stay compliant and reduce administrative workload.
Amidst these new demands, ChildFriendly Pro emerges as a leading management software solution, purpose-built to address Alberta's evolving childcare requirements. In anticipation of these changes, ChildFriendly hosted a province-wide webinar, Navigating Alberta Childcare Funding Updates, ahead of the April 1 transition. The session guided operators through the new funding model, compliant billing strategies, and the rollout of the government's Licensing and Claims Portal.
To support operators through the transition, ChildFriendly Pro saves hours of administrative work for providers by streamlining key processes, including:
Automated parent billing up to the government-approved fee cap, with the remainder automatically tracked for Affordability Grant claims
Optional fee management for approved non-core services, with built-in compliance and reporting
Monthly claims reports formatted to align with Alberta's Licensing and Claims Portal submission requirements
Digital onboarding and data tracking for children, families, and staff - including all required Alberta fields
Real-time compliance monitoring for ratios, nap supervision, maximum group sizes, and certification/document expiries
As Alberta's childcare sector continues to digitize, many operators are adopting tools like ChildFriendly Pro to meet new regulatory requirements and streamline administrative processes.
To learn more, interested childcare providers in Alberta can contact ChildFriendly Pro by sending an email to hello@childfriendlypro.com.
Contact Information
Laura Bancroft
Founder, ChildFriendly
lbancroft@childfriendlypro.com
SOURCE: Child Friendly Pro
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/education/every-alberta-child-in-care-must-be-registered-by-june-26-albertas-childcare-system-begin-1042126
