My impression, from what I have seen and heard but have no basis to say it is accurate, is that the agencies are for the home daycare providers that cannot find clients themselves. Whether it be their location, their house, their work background, lack of experience or what ever they just can't find clients of their own.

The families that use the agency, in my impression, are families that cannot maintain care in a unlicensed dayhome (have been terminated due to behavior of child or parent) and those that need the government subsidies and thereby need to use the licensed system.

I DO NOT feel that licenced is better care, better quality, better learning, better nurturing or better in any way. I don't doubt there are some great providers that are licensed. But from what I have seen I think the well experienced/education providers that offer a solid day home are wiser and go unlicensed because it makes no sense to let an agency profit $10-15 a day per child when they are not doing any of the work. It makes no sense. I have had numerous families ask me why I wasn't licensed they were under the understanding licensed was better. When I explained Ontario's licensing process they all thought it was absurd and commented they would never do it themselves that it just did not make sense.