In June 2026, Ontario filed O. Reg. 197/26, an amendment to O. Reg. 137/15, the general regulation under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. Some of its changes took effect on July 1, 2026. A second group, which is mostly new written policies, drills and parent notices, comes into force on January 1, 2027 (O. Reg. 197/26, s. 22 (2)).

That leaves centre supervisors and home child care agency staff a few months to write the new policies, train staff on them and set up the records an inspector will ask to see. Below is a plain-language summary of what changes in January, with the section numbers, so you can read the official text yourself.

1. Missing child procedures and quarterly drills (new s. 68.2)

This is the biggest operational change. Every licensee of a child care centre or home child care agency must have written policies and procedures for managing an incident where a child is missing (s. 68.2 (1)). Under s. 68.2 (2), the policy must:

• explain how staff decide when a child should be considered missing, so they know when to start the procedure;
• set out the steps to take, and the roles of the supervisor and other employees (or the home child care provider);
• say when emergency services must be contacted; and
• say when the child’s parents must be notified.

Child care centres also have to run missing child drills at least once every three months. They must keep a written record of every drill for at least 12 months from the date of the drill (s. 68.2 (3)). As written, the drill requirement applies to centres. Home child care agencies still need the written policy. If you run an agency, ask your program advisor what they expect in practice.

How to prepare:

• Write the “when is a child missing” trigger in concrete terms, such as “not accounted for at a headcount and not found in an immediate check of the room.”
• Name the roles: who searches where, who stays with the group, who calls 911, who calls the parents.
• Set a drill calendar now. A drill in January, April, July and October is an easy pattern to remember.
• Pick a drill record format: date, time, room or group, who took part, how long it took, and what you learned.

2. Written supervision policies with counting rules (new s. 11 (2))

Section 11 already requires every child to be supervised by an adult at all times. From January 1, centres and agencies must also have written supervision policies and procedures that:

• say when, how and how often children are counted, with any changes needed for different age groups;
• set out strategies for higher-risk moments. The regulation names transitions between rooms or between indoors and outdoors, washroom visits, arrivals and dismissals, field trips, outdoor gates, parking lots, and places where sightlines are blocked, such as play structures, staircases and corners;
• set out the steps to take when a child is unaccounted for; and
• give the roles and responsibilities of staff or providers for each of these.

Most programs already count children at transitions. The change is that your counting routine now has to be written down, specific and taught to staff.

3. Telling parents about non-routine hazards (new s. 24.3 and s. 31.1)

Centres must make best efforts to eliminate or reduce risks from hazards at the premises. The regulation describes these as dangerous items, conditions or features that could cause reasonably foreseeable harm to a child (s. 24.3 (1)). The licensee must notify parents of the hazard and of the steps taken or planned to deal with it (s. 24.3 (2)).

You do not have to notify parents about hazards that are common in child care and handled by standard safety measures. The regulation’s examples are locked cabinets for hazardous substances, outlet covers and extra supervision on playgrounds (s. 24.3 (3)).

Home child care has a parallel rule. Agencies must make best efforts to make each home safe, and must make sure parents at that home get notice of hazards and of the steps being taken (s. 31.1 (1), (3) and (4)). Firearms and ammunition must still be locked up, with any key kept out of children’s reach (s. 31.1 (2)).

How to prepare: keep a simple hazard register. For each hazard, record what it is, where it is, the date you found it, what you’re doing about it, and when and how parents were told. Examples might be a broken fence board, construction next door or a damaged play structure waiting for repair. A dated register also makes inspections easier.

4. Who acts when the supervisor is away (new s. 6.1 (2))

If your policies give the centre supervisor powers or duties, the policies must now name one or more people who act in the supervisor’s place when the supervisor is not on site and something urgent has to be handled right away. Read your policies, find each place that says “the supervisor will…”, and make sure a back-up is named.

5. Training on every required policy (new s. 58 (1.1))

Your staff training and development policy must now provide for training on each policy and procedure the regulation requires you to have. That includes the new missing child, supervision and hazard policies. A sign-off sheet or training matrix that shows who was trained on which policy, and when, is a practical way to show this.

6. Building and entry changes for centres

• Unauthorized entry (s. 24.4): centres must put measures in place to stop unauthorized people from entering while children are in care. The parent handbook must describe those measures (s. 45 (1) (a.1.0.1)).
• Septic system access points (s. 24.1): these must be inaccessible to children, secured to building code and fitted with a secondary safety device. They may not be inside the outdoor play space. Centres licensed before January 1, 2027 have until July 1, 2027 for the play-space rule, or can ask a director for an exemption. Home child care premises must meet the same securing criteria (new s. 31).
• Vehicle impact barriers (s. 24.2): these apply to centres licensed on or after January 1, 2027. They do not apply to centres licensed before that date.

What is not changing in January

Some rules are sometimes mixed up with the 2027 changes but are already in force and are not amended by O. Reg. 197/26:

• Sleep supervision (s. 33.1): direct visual checks of sleeping infants and toddlers (and of children under 24 months in family age groups or home child care), enough light to do them, and written sleep policies that say how often checks happen and how they’re documented. These rules are unchanged.
• Fire drills (s. 68): monthly fire drills for most centres, with records kept for 12 months, are unchanged. Missing child drills are a separate, additional requirement.

A simple checklist for the fall

1. Read the January 1, 2027 notes in O. Reg. 137/15 on e-Laws.
2. Draft or update your missing child, supervision and hazard policies.
3. Name back-up decision-makers wherever a policy relies on the supervisor.
4. Update the parent handbook, including the unauthorized-entry measures.
5. Schedule staff training and record who signed off.
6. Book your first missing child drill for early January, and set up the drill log.
7. Start a hazard register and decide how you’ll send notices to parents.
8. Check with your program advisor if anything is unclear for your licence type.

How KiddieTrac helps

KiddieTrac has tools for this kind of work: a missing-child drill log and drill schedule, a hazard register that can send parent notices, headcounts with an acting supervisor recorded, sleep room supervision checks, and policies with staff sign-offs and a training matrix. These tools help you keep the records. They don’t replace your own policies or your program advisor’s guidance.

Sources

• O. Reg. 137/15 (General), Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, consolidated on e-Laws, including the notes for amendments effective January 1, 2027
• O. Reg. 197/26 (amending O. Reg. 137/15), filed June 23, 2026; commencement in s. 22
• Child Care Centre Licensing Manual (Ministry of Education)
• Child Care Centre Licensing Manual, Part 10, Emergency Preparedness