With the Child Care Licensing Regulation set to expire early next year, the Alberta government says it is set to start consultations with stakeholders to improve the quality of child care in the province while also making it safer.

For Alberta couple Linda Hoang and Mike Brown, the news their adoption agency is closing is another setback in their long and difficult journey to becoming parents.

Children's Services Minister Rebecca Schulz said that although the province has not had any confirmed COVID-19 cases in shelters for Albertans who are homeless, her government is committed to protecting vulnerable people during the pandemic.

The child care accreditation funding program, which was initially launched in 2004, will end April 1, 2020.

The UCP will be cutting a pair of programs meant to support childcare centres and workers in Alberta.

The NDP have tabled a petition in the house with more than 1000 signatures that call on the UCP to extend funding for $25-a-day childcare.