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EDMONTON — Alberta parents will soon receive faster notification when serious incidents occur at licensed child-care facilities under new provincial rules aimed at improving transparency and communication.
Beginning June 1, licensed child-care centres will be required to post notices of high-risk, potentially criminal incidents within one business day of an incident being reported, or as soon as reasonably possible. Notices must be displayed in locations visible to parents and guardians.
The province will also publish notices online identifying the child-care program and the date the incident was reported.
Families whose children are directly involved in an incident will continue to receive direct notification from their child-care provider.
The changes come after concerns from parents who said they wanted more timely information when serious incidents occur at facilities attended by their children.
Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the changes are intended to provide clearer and faster communication while maintaining a focus on child safety and well-being.
Under the current system, child-care operators are generally required to notify only families whose children are directly affected by an incident.
The new public notification requirement is the first step in what the province describes as a broader effort to strengthen transparency within Alberta’s child-care system.
The government is also encouraging child-care operators to post facility safety plans in visible locations. Those plans outline procedures and precautions to be followed after a serious incident and are approved by Alberta Education and Childcare.
Alberta officials say the new policies were developed in consultation with child-care providers, law enforcement agencies and legal and privacy experts.
The YMCA of Northern Alberta welcomed the changes, noting similar notification practices have already been part of its operating procedures for years.
The new requirements will apply to licensed facility-based child-care providers, including daycares, preschools and out-of-school care programs.
Family day home agencies will continue following existing procedures, which include notifying families directly, arranging backup care and closing affected homes after serious incidents.
The province says Alberta’s child-care licensing team will determine on a case-by-case basis whether incidents meet the threshold for public notification, focusing on situations involving possible harm to children, including allegations of abuse or neglect.
Incident notices posted online will be removed after 90 days, although enforcement records for licensed facilities will remain available through existing provincial resources.
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