What is Childcare Connect?
Childcare Connect is an online platform that connects childcare organizations with local, qualified substitute educators. We achieve this by providing organization owners, managers, supervisors, and staff with a quick and easy way to post absences to a local shift list, where nearby substitute educators can sign-up to fill the shift.
How does Childcare Connect handle sensitive information?
Childcare Connect encrypts and safely stores all user data. All sensitive information is accessible only by relevant childcare organizations in your area for the purpose of hiring. Childcare Connect will never share or sell your data to any third parties.
Who is able to post shifts?
Childcare Connect enables childcare organizations, daycares, summer camps, and private schools to post shift openings when their staff members need time off. All of the shifts you’ll see on the “Available Shifts” lists were posted by childcare organizations in your area to fill early childhood educator shifts.
What regions does Childcare Connect currently operate in?
Childcare Connect currently services the Greater Toronto Area and the Kingston-Ottawa area, although preparations for other regions are currently underway.
Is there a minimum number of shifts we have to pickup?
No, educators on Childcare Connect are free to pick up as many or as few shifts as they’d like.
What happens when a substitute picks up a shift but doesn’t show up?
Substitute educators who fail to report for a shift they’ve picked up through Childcare Connect will receive 1 warning before their account is deactivated. As there is a subscription fee for substitute educators, this is an exceedingly rare occurrence and is taken very seriously by the Childcare Connect team. Additionally, individual organizations have the ability to blacklist undesired substitutes, preventing unwanted parties from being able to see when your organization posts shifts
Can we pick up multiple shifts simultaneously?
Yes, substitute educators may commit to multiple shifts as long as their dates and times do not conflict. Additionally, Childcare organizations are able to create a block of shifts that span multiple days or weeks. These shift blocks may only be picked up as a single entity, meaning the substitute educator must commit to all of the shifts in the block.
Is there a limit to the number of shifts we can pickup?
No, educators on Childcare Connect have the freedom to pickup as many or as few shifts as they’d like.
Can we cancel a shift that we’ve already picked up?
If an educator has already picked up a shift, the educator may cancel the shift pickup unless there is less than 12 hours until the scheduled shift would begin. After this point, it is the responsibility of the educator to reach out to the organization to explain the situation.
What involvement does Childcare Connect have in the payroll of substitute educators?
All childcare organizations are responsible for the compensation of their substitute educators. Childcare Connect is in no way involved in distribution of paychecks. Childcare organizations that refuse to pay their substitute educators will be banned from Childcare Connect and all relevant information will be sent to the Ontario Ministry of Labour for investigation.
Do we need to sign an employment agreement with each new childcare organization?
Policies and procedures vary by organization. It is the responsibility of the substitute educator to reach out to the organization and request information regarding policy whenever filling in for an organization for the first time.
What is Childcare Connect?
Childcare Connect is an online platform that connects childcare organizations with local, qualified substitute educators. We achieve this by providing organization owners, managers, supervisors, and staff with a quick and easy way to post absences to a local shift list, where nearby substitute educators are able to view, receive notifications for, and fill the posted shifts.
We already have a calling list; why do we need Childcare Connect?
Maintaining a current list of substitute educators is an almost impossible task, as substitutes find permanent positions, update contact info, move out of the area, etc.. And this only gets more difficult as your organization grows, often requiring multiple substitutes to fill in on the same day.
Childcare Connect solves this problem by providing a centralized platform. The platform is an interactive application that lists available open shifts to all subscribed substitute educators within the local area. The substitutes have been prescreened and meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education. You can choose the required credentials, select the date and time, and when you post the shift, all of the substitute educators in your area who meet the requirements will receive an email or text notification that your organization requires a substitute for this specific shift.
What happens when a substitute picks up a shift?
When a qualified substitute educator picks up a shift that your centre has posted, the centre’s owners, managers, and supervisors (or a mix dependant on preferences) will receive a notification. The substitute educator will also receive a notification, confirming the shift location, specifics, and a reminder to allow time to review the organization’s policies. At this point, the substitute educator has committed to filling the shift.
A particular substitute is not a good fit for our organization. Are we able to prevent them from accepting our shifts?
Substitute educators who fail to report for a shift they’ve picked up through Childcare Connect will be contacted by the Childcare Connect team and may have their account deactivated. As there is a subscription fee for substitute educators, this is an exceedingly rare occurrence and is taken very seriously by the Childcare Connect team. Additionally, individual organizations have the ability to blacklist undesired substitutes, preventing unwanted parties from being able to see when your organization posts shifts.
Who is able to post shifts?
Childcare Connect is a completely customizable platform. The organization dashboard allows you to enroll the employees of your choice, and adjust permissions as necessary. Each chosen employee is provided with a personalized account they may use to log into Childcare Connect. This allows the organization the option to grant an educator the ability to post their own shift openings, or you can leave that to your organization’s supervisors and managers.
When posting a shift, the user must specify the type of position that requires filling (toddler educator, before-and-after school educator, custodial staff, etc.). Users with the appropriate permissions may customize the positions that may post shift openings by adding and removing positions, or by managing the position-specific permissions.
A substitute educator picked up a shift I posted! How do I know if they’re a good fit?
The Childcare Connect team manually reviews all credentials submitted by substitute educators before they’re given the ability to view and pickup shifts. Our team verifies the immunization records, resume, CPIC, and government identification for each substitute educator prior to approving their access to Childcare Connect. Once approved, your organization will have access to the credentials of each substitute, with the ability to view and print documents on demand. If applicable, substitute educators may also upload First Aid Certification and RECE documentation.
It is the responsibility of the childcare organization to check a substitute educator’s credentials prior to accepting their shift pickup.
How does Childcare Connect handle organizations with multiple locations?
Childcare Connect allows you to add multiple locations to your organization’s profile via the dashboard. Organization owners are able to simultaneously manage all locations, and may assign their managers, owners, and staff to their specific locations.
How does Childcare Connect handle sensitive information?
Childcare Connect encrypts and safely stores all user data. All sensitive information is accessible only by relevant childcare organizations in your area for the purpose of hiring. Childcare Connect will never share or sell your data to any third parties.
Can we post multiple shifts at a time?
Yes! You can create a block of shifts that span multiple days or weeks, or pick multiple non-consecutive days and post each shift simultaneously. This is especially useful when trying to fill shifts when staff take holidays or become sick.
Is there a limit to the number of shifts we can post?
No, organizations are able to post as many or as few shifts as they’d like.
One of our staff members is moving on to a new job, can we revoke their permissions?
Yes, your organization’s owners can easily change the permissions given to their staff members, or even delete their staff members’ accounts.
How do my staff members post shifts?
When you make an account with Childcare Connect, your organization will be given access to a personalized dashboard for managing your staff and their absences. In the “employees” section of the dashboard, you’re able to add new staff members and edit the profiles of existing ones. When each new staff member is added, you’re given a unique username and password for each staff member that you may give to your employees, allowing them to log on to Childcare Connect to post their own absences on behalf of your organization.
Can we cancel a shift that we’ve already posted?
Your organization’s staff members with the appropriate permissions are able to cancel a shift posting as long as you’ve not already confirmed a shift pickup from a substitute educator. If you’ve already confirmed a substitute educator’s shift pickup, you must contact the substitute educator using the contact info on their profile to discuss the situation.
What involvement does Childcare Connect have in the payroll of substitute educators?
All childcare organizations are responsible for the compensation of their substitute educators. Childcare Connect is in no way involved in distribution of paychecks. Childcare organizations that refuse to pay their substitute educators will be banned from Childcare Connect and all relevant information will be sent to the Ontario Ministry of Labour for investigation.
What if we want to permanently hire a substitute educator we met on Childcare Connect?
You can find a list of all of the substitute educators who have filled in for shifts at your organization in the “substitute educators” section of your dashboard. From here, you can view the substitute educators profile to find their contact information and credentials so you can reach out.
What regions does Childcare Connect currently operate in?
Childcare Connect currently services the Greater Toronto Area and the Kingston-Ottawa area, although preparations for other regions are currently underway.
How many staff members are we allowed to add to Childcare Connect?
Childcare Connect allows your organization an unlimited number of unique staff accounts. These can be managed in the “Staff” section of the organization dashboard.
Please visit our contact page to submit your own question and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can with an answer.