Q. HOW DO I APPLY FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS?   A. Parents can apply for Childcare Financial Assistance benefits online by logging into their existing Parent Portal account. If you do not have a Parent Portal account, go to  Parent Portal and ‘Register’ to create an account.    

Q. WHAT IS THE PARENT PORTAL?   A. The Parent Portal is a secure, online site. It is a ‘one stop shop’ for parents to interact with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) throughout their child’s educational experience from preschool to Grade 12.

It is a secure site and can only be accessed by the Parent Portal account owner, through their username and password. Your childcare provider only has access to the information pertaining to the child’s enrolment offer, such as their basic personal information, the number of days your child will be attending the facility, and the approved Childcare Financial Assistance benefit. 

Q. WHAT ARE THE TWO CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND WHO CAN APPLY FOR THEM?  A. There are two programs:

• Parent Subsidy Program – provides financial support to parents with preschool children (aged 0–5, not yet in school) enrolled in a designated early learning and childcare facility.
• Childcare Assistance Program – provides financial support to parents with preschool children (ages 0–5, not yet in school) enroled in a non-designated early learning and childcare facility or children 5–12 years and enroled in a school age program.

To apply, parents must be working, enroled in a training or educational program, have a parent referral, or a referral from a child program.

Q. CAN I APPLY FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS IF I DO NOT HAVE A SPACE IN A CHILDCARE FACILITY YET?   A. Parents can apply for Childcare Financial Assistance benefits up to 60 days before their child starts at a licensed early learning and childcare facility. If an enrolment offer is not active within 60 days from the benefit approval date, the benefit will expire, and parents must then submit a new application. 

Q. CAN I TRACK THE STATUS OF MY APPLICATION THROUGH THE PARENT PORTAL?   A. Yes. Sign into your Parent Portal account, click on ‘Programs and Services’ to view the status of your application.  

Q. HOW WILL I BE NOTIFIED ABOUT THE DECISION OF MY CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION?   A. You will receive an email notification at the email address you used to register for the Parent Portal. To view the decision, click the link in the notification, which will take you directly to the decision page, or sign into the Parent Portal and select ‘Programs and Services’.  

Q. IF MY APPLICATION IS INCOMPLETE OR MISSING INFORMATION, HOW WILL I BE NOTIFIED?   A. You will receive an email notification indicating that there is a required action. When you click on the link in the email notification, it will take you to your Parent Portal account where you will select ‘Required Actions’ for more details.  

Q. WHAT IF I START MY APPLICATION AND DON’T HAVE ALL OF THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION TO COMPLETE IT AT THAT TIME?   A. You can save your progress and return to complete your application at a later date. Sign into your Parent Portal account and you will see a red alert button beside ‘Required Actions’. Click for more details.  

Q. ARE THERE DIFFERENT BENEFIT AMOUNTS FOR DIFFERENT FACILITIES?   A. Benefit amounts are based on the facility licence type, the age of the child(ren) and the designation status of the licence.   To learn more about the licence type of your facility see: Designated Early Learning and Child Care Facilities.

Q. WHAT IS THE INCOME LIMIT FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE?  A. You may qualify if your gross annual household income (before deductions) is $80,000 or less. Families earning $37,500 or less may receive free childcare if their child is enroled in a designated early learning and childcare facility. 

Q. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BENEFITS IF I MOVE MY CHILD TO ANOTHER LICENSED EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE FACILITY?   A. If you have an approved Childcare Financial Assistance benefit, the benefit will transfer to your new licence when you accept an enrolment offer from your new childcare provider.   

Q. I SHARE CUSTODY OF MY CHILD.  CAN BOTH PARENTS RECEIVE SUBSIDY BENEFITS?   A. Yes, both parents must apply for the Childcare Financial Assistance benefit separately. Each parent must create their own account in the Parent Portal and apply for a subsidy. Each parent should receive a separate enrolment offer from their childcare provider. Approved Childcare Financial Assistance benefits will be applied to each parent based on the enrolment details submitted by the childcare provider. 

Q. WHAT IF I HAVE MORE THAN ONE EMAIL ADDRESS?   A. Parents must use the same email address to create their Parent Portal account and apply for Childcare Financial Assistance benefits, and it must be the same email address provided to the operator for the enrolment offer.  If you change your email address, you must update you email address in your Parent Portal account.   

Q. I DO NOT HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS OR ACCESS TO THE INTERNET. WHAT SHOULD I DO?   A. If you do not have an email address or access to the internet, please contact the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Monday to Friday between 8:15 am and 4:30 pm by phone 1 833 221-9339 or by email EECDPortal-PortailEDPE@gnb.ca to request support. 

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?   If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Monday to Friday between 8:15 am and 4:30 pm by phone 1 833 221-9339 or by email EECDPortal-PortailEDPE@gnb.ca.