Province rebrands Ontario Early Years Centres

In February 2016, the Ministry of Education announced its intention to transform Ministry funded child and family programing into an increasingly integrated, cohesive system of services and supports for children 0-6 and their parents/caregivers. This transformation is known as EarlyON Child and Family Centres.

Following the minister’s announcement the County of Dufferin conducted a needs assessment to determine how this new mandate from the province could benefit the residents who use the Ontario Early Years Centres. With input from parents, caregivers, children, school boards, staff, and many community partners Dufferin County developed a local EarlyON plan.

Since 2002, the County of Dufferin has been directly operating Ontario Early Years Centres at the following locations: 30 Centre Street, Orangeville; 167 Centre Street, Shelburne; 90 Main Street North, Grand Valley.

On Jan. 1, the County of Dufferin became responsible for the local management of the newly rebranded EarlyON Child and Family Centres.

“The residents of Dufferin will still have everything they have come to expect from the Ontario Early Years Centres and more with the switch to the EarlyON Child and Family Centres,” said Keith Palmer, the County’s Director of Community Services.

This name change marks a significant milestone in the multi-year strategy to modernize and transform the childcare and early years sector and stems from the collaborative work between the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, the County of Dufferin and community partners.

Ontario’s vision for the Early Years and Child Care: All children and families have access to a range of high-quality, inclusive and affordable early years and child care programs and services that are child- and family-centred and contribute to children’s learning, development and well-being.