Programs that provide temporary shelter/residential care for infants and children who are at risk for or who have experienced child abuse or neglect in the home or whose families are experiencing an emergency that makes it untenable for the child to remain in the home. Care is generally provided by licensed family child care homes that are available on a 24-hour basis when needed. Some providers are able to accommodate children to age 12 or 14 and will consider older children on a case-by-case basis, while others limit their services to very young children, generally from birth to age five or six.

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Programs that provide educational experiences and activities for children who are younger than compulsory school age, supplement parental care and home play and stimulate intellectual growth and motor skills development. Activities generally include preacademic skill development such as shape, colour and number recognition; active outdoor play; observation of nature and pets; dancing and rhythms; block building; playhouse activities; games; simple excursions outside the school; stories and picture books. Children are also given a nutritious snack and/or meal and a period for adequate rest, and are taught basic cleanliness and good health habits.

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Programs that provide training for individuals who want to become qualified as occasional baby sitters or child care professionals, and who need information regarding rules, regulations, accepted practices and available resources.

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Programs that provide provincial and community-based services that are designed to improve the availability and quality of child care. These programs maintain lists of child care resources and link families who are in need of child care services with child care centres, licensed family child care homes and other organization-based providers; provide information that helps families become good consumers of child care services; recruit new child care providers to expand the availability of the service locally; provide training and technical assistance for providers; and collect and disseminate data which document the demand for child care services and the current availability of child care resources. Some programs may also make referrals to preschools and many provide referrals to children's play groups.

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Programs that provide classes which feature recreational activities that are specifically designed for children age three to five. The classes may include arts and crafts, storytelling, singing, music and rhythm, tumbling and other age-appropriate pursuits.

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Programs that provide regularly scheduled opportunities for children to engage in supervised play with one another.

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