What the information means
Every element on a centre card, what it tells you, and where it comes from. Short version: blue and green badges are about money, the sage chip is the city's quality assessment, gold stars are parent opinion.
| What you see | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidy available badge | The centre accepts the City of Toronto fee subsidy — income-based help paying for care. You apply to the city, not the centre. | City registry |
| CWELCC $10/day badge | Enrolled in the Canada-Wide system that caps fees for children under 6. Per-centre and voluntary. | City registry |
| Standard rate badge | Neither program — full market fees. | City registry |
| City AQI chip (sage) | The city's own annual quality assessment, 0–5. We always show the centre's lowest-scored program, so a weak room can't hide behind a strong one. 3 is the city's minimum standard. | City assessments |
| ★ Stars + count (gold) | Google review average and count — parent opinion, not an official measure. Review text lives on Google Maps (we never store it). | Google, refreshed monthly |
| Distance / detour | Straight-line distance from your postal code — or, with a commute saved, how far the centre pulls you off your home→work route. | Computed on your device |
| Age chips (Infant … School age) | Which age groups the centre is licensed for. The expanded card shows licensed spaces per group — capacity, not current openings. | City registry |
| Vacancy | The city's reported vacancy flag per program. It can lag — always confirm with the centre. | City centre pages |
| Quality dimensions (tap to open) | The ~20 specific things the city scores — Books, Language & Literacy, Electronic Media Usage, and more — each beside the city-wide average. No combined score, on purpose: you decide what matters most. | City assessment detail |
| Inspection line | The most recent inspection date and outcome. | ChildCareSafe (city data) |
| Operator type | Non-profit, commercial, or city-operated. City-operated centres use the central TELCCS waitlist. | City registry |
| Care options (Before/after school…) | Schedule types the centre is licensed to offer — full/half day, before and after school, weekends, extended hours. | Ontario licensing registry |
| Additional languages | Languages of service the centre listed beyond English. Self-reported and sparse: a centre not listing a language may still offer it — when in doubt, ask. English is spoken at virtually all licensed Toronto centres. | Ontario licensing registry |
| Operating since / Operated by | Original licence date, and the licensee — with location count when the operator runs multiple sites. | Ontario licensing registry |
Data freshness is shown in the footer of every page. Program, quality, and vacancy data comes from public city sources and may lag — confirm details with centres directly before making decisions.