New: ECE Specialized Certification Grant
ECE Recruitment & Retention Incentive
In partnership with the Province of British Columbia and with support from the Government of Canada, the Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC) are administering the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Specialized Certification Grant, commencing January 2024.
To apply:
Please download and complete the Application Form and upload it along with your required documents to the drop box link. Please note: A newly updated application form has been provided as of January 12, 2024.
Please include your first and last name in the title of the documents you upload.
Grant Information & Eligibility
Background
In partnership with the Province of British Columbia and with support from the Government of Canada, the Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC) are administering the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Specialized Certification Grant, commencing January 2024.
The purpose of the ECE Specialized Certification Grant is to incentivize educators to upskill and obtain their Specialized Certificate(s) – Infant and Toddler Educator (ITE) and/or Special Needs Early Childhood Educator (SNE) – and to work in the child care sector with children ages 0 to 5, given current workforce shortages in BC. The ECE Specialized Certification Grant also recognizes long-standing educators holding their Specialized Certificate(s) for their continued commitment to working with children ages 0 to 5 in the child care sector. This will support increased quality and continuity of child care programming, access to quality child care spaces, and align with ongoing space creation initiatives.
Applicant Eligibility
The ECE Specialized Certification Grant will recognize all BC certified ECEs holding at least one Specialized Certificate (ITE and/or SNE) who meet the following eligibility criteria. Please see Appendix A for an Eligibility Quick Guide diagram.
Eligible applicants must:
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
- Hold a valid Infant and Toddler Educator Certificate and/or Special Needs Early Childhood Educator Certificate.
- Currently work with children ages 0 to 5 in a licensed child care program or an Aboriginal Head Start program for an average of 10 hours per week (which can be calculated over the course of the month). This includes Supported Child Development (SCD) and Aboriginal Supported Child Development (ASCD) support workers meeting these criteria (see “eligible employment criteria” below).
- Have been continuously employed and working with children ages 0 to 5 in an eligible work setting(s) for the previous 12 months (see “definition of continuous employment” below).
Individuals working in licensed child care or Aboriginal Head Start programs are eligible to apply for the grant. This includes individuals working within the following designations:
- Licensed Group Child Care
- Licensed Multi-Age Child Care
- Licensed Preschools
- Licensed Family Child Care
- Licensed In-Home Multi Age Child Care
- Licensed Group child care (School Age) and School Age Care on School Grounds (if Kindergarten children are enrolled).
- Aboriginal Head Start
- Supported Child Development (SCD) and Aboriginal Child Development (ASCD) support workers who work with children in any of the above settings. Applicant may be employed by the child care provider OR by the contract agency who provides SCD/ASCD.
While eligible applicants must hold at least one Specialized Certificate, their work experience in an eligible child care setting may pre-date their Specialized Certificate(s). For the 12-month employment requirement, this may have been completed in any of the eligible settings and hours completed as an ECE Assistant, ECE or SCD/ASCD support work all counts towards this requirement. For both the previous and current employment requirements, only hours working with children 0-5 are counted.
For example, if an applicant works with an eligible employer (e.g., licensed preschool) and works with an employer that isn’t considered eligible, only the hours worked in the eligible child care setting count towards determining eligibility.
For the purposes of the Specialized Certification Grant, the Ministry of Education and Child Care defines continuous employment as:
"Any employer authorized leave of absence, such as medical leave or education leave and including temporary layoff, is included when determining continuous employment. Short breaks of employment are allowed up to and including 14 calendar days in length, as long as a period of at least 3 months of continuous employment preceded the break in employment."
For example;
- I was on maternity leave last year, am I eligible? YES
- I work at a licensed preschool program with children 0-5, that closes for July and August. Am I eligible? YES
Grant Amount
An approved applicant may only receive one grant per year:
- Eligible ECEs who hold one Specialized Certificate (ITE or SNE) will receive a $2,000 grant.
- Eligible ECEs who hold both Specialized Certificates (ITE and SNE) will receive a $3,000 grant.
If an applicant obtains their second Specialized Certificate after receiving the incentive for one certificate, they will receive the higher incentive amount upon application the following year.
Application Process
Application forms and accompanying documentation may be submitted to the drop box link on an ongoing basis starting January 15, 2024. Applicants who continue to meet eligibility requirements for the grant in subsequent years will be able to reapply the following year as of the month the previous application was submitted.
For example, If you applied and where successful for funding in May 2023, you are eligible to apply again in May 2024
NEW: Due to the high volume of applications, the grant team is still processing and reviewing applications. Applicants can anticipate receiving emails with details through the next month.
Document Requirements
Applicants are responsible for submitting their own complete application, including all of the following required documents. We do not accept documents from third parties. Please download the Grant Guidelines for more specifics regarding these requirements.
- Application Form
- Current Employment Verification (included in application form)
- Confirmation of Minimum 12 Months Working in Child Care (included in application form)
- Proof of Residency
- Void Cheque or Direct Deposit Form (DDF)
For more information on the application process, required documents, grant payment process and appeals process, please see the ECE Specialized Grant Guidelines (PDF).
Specialized Certification Grant Guidelines
Please download the Grant Guidelines for more information on the application process and required documents to include with your application.
Application Form
Please upload this to and be sure to include all of your supporting documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
View the frequently asked questions below.
NO, this is a separate grant. For more information about the different programs ECEBC administers check out the ECEBC website.
The ECE Specialized Certification Grant will recognize all ECEs holding at least one BC Specialized Certificate currently working with children ages 0 to 5 for an average of 10 hours per week (which can be calculated over the course of the month) in licensed child care or Aboriginal Head Start programs, who have been working in the BC child care sector for at least 12 months prior to application.
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis from January 15, 2024. Applicants will be required to submit a completed application form, employment signature or employment verification, and meet all eligibility requirements outlined in the Guidelines.
2 Certificates (ITE & SNE) - $3,000
1 Certificate (ITE OR SNE) - $2,000
To be eligible for the grant, ECEs must be currently working, have worked for at least the last 12 months, a minimum of 10 hours per week, with children aged 0-5 in an eligible child care setting.
- Licensed Group Child Care
- Licensed Multi-Age Child Care
- Licensed Preschools
- Licensed Family Child Care
- Licensed In-Home Multi Age Child Care
- Licensed Group child care (School Age) and School Age Care on School Grounds (if Kindergarten children are enrolled)
- Aboriginal Head Start
- Supported Child Development (SCD) and Aboriginal Child Development (ASCD) support workers who work with children in licensed child care settings. Note, ECE’s may be employed by the child care provider OR by the contracted agency who provides SCD/ASCD.
For the purposes of the Specialized Certification Grant, the Ministry of Education and Child Care defines continuous employment as:
"Any employer authorized leave of absence, such as medical leave or education leave and including temporary layoff, is included when determining continuous employment. Short breaks of employment are allowed up to and including 14 calendar days in length, as long as a period of at least 3 months of continuous employment preceded the break in employment."
For example;
- I was on maternity leave last year, am I eligible? YES
- I work at a licensed preschool program with children 0-5, that closes for July and August. Am I eligible? YES
Yes, if successful. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) defines grants as a form of taxable income and requires ECEBC to provide T4As to beneficiaries and to report the value of the grant to the CRA. ECEBC issues a T4A to all successful applicants by February 28th of the following year they applied for the grant. It is the sole responsibility of the grant beneficiary to submit this T4A to the CRA upon filing of their annual tax return.
ECEBC will issue your grant payment via direct deposit within 12 weeks of your application approval email.
Applicants can apply once per year (based on your application month). For example, if you apply in March 2024, you are eligible to apply again starting in March 2025, and so on.
Yes , please review the appeals process in the Guidelines.
Currently, as part of Government’s ChildCare BC Plan, the grant funding parameters are to support ECE's, who have their IT/SN, working in the licensed child care sector with children ages 0 to 5, given current workforce shortages in BC.
Your education region refers to the region for the city you currently reside in. View the Regional School Districts Map to find your region.
For the ECE Specialized Certification Grant, ECEBC will use the File-Sync-Share application through Fullhost (secure Canadian cloud submission and storage platform).
Applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) and be residents of BC. Temporary foreign workers, international students, or other temporary residents are ineligible.
No. Only employment working with children’s ages 0-5 in an eligible work setting in British Columbia counts towards continuous employment.
The Ministry of Education and Child Care has indicated these grants will be available to eligible ECEs for the next three years, and will be administered by Early Childhood Educators of BC.
Questions or Comments? Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the new specialized certification grant please contact
specializationgrant@ecebc.ca