Summary

The Child Care (New Facilities) Amendment Act, 2024 creates two new categories of child care facility in Saskatchewan law (alternative child care services centres and preschools), raises the child limit in group family child care homes from 12 to 16, and adds requirements for parental involvement in licensed preschool governance.

This bill amends Saskatchewan's child care law to recognize two new facility types. Alternative child care services centres become a distinct licensed category alongside existing child care centres, though the bill does not specify how they differ operationally. Preschools are defined as facilities where no child receives care for more than three hours per day; they may operate with or without a licence, but if licensed, most must either have parent-majority boards or establish elected parent advisory committees. The bill raises the maximum number of children allowed in group family child care homes from 12 to 16 (with an 18-year-old assistant required above eight children). It also allows Saskatchewan to share information collected from licensees with the federal government under intergovernmental agreements, and permits licensees to provide additional personal or health information to the minister with written parental consent. The bill leaves child number limits for the new facility types to be set by regulation.