Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Jie Wu, Interim Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): 230095
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Children At Risk
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent that the County Judge execute an amendment to an agreement with Children At Risk to update the Budget (Exhibit B) for Early Learning Quality Network for Harris County for the period of October 10, 2023 - November 30, 2026, with no increase in the total contract amount (230095), Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature.
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Background and Discussion:
Harris County is piloting the Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN), a community-driven initiative aimed at improving early learning and care by collaborating with childcare providers, families, and community stakeholders to enhance quality based on each focal area's unique strengths. This effort is supported by the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, a Network Support Hub (NSH), and four Local Network Organizations (LNOs) serving five communities in Harris County.
CHILDREN AT RISK, the NSH for ELQN, is proposing to reallocate funds from various line items to Fringe and Contractual line items for both the Program Budget and Grant Administration Budget. The reallocation would allow the vendor to sustain the capacity of essential staff and materials, thus maintaining high-quality programming and strong standards for monitoring, compliance, and reporting.
Expected Impact:
The approval of this budget amendment will enable CHILDREN AT RISK to fully utilize the allocated ARPA funds for the program while ensuring the necessary staffing levels to maintain the highest quality standards in managing the seven ELQN Initiatives and providing technical assistance to the LNOs. This amendment will strengthen program operations without any negative impact on the program’s Key Performance Indicators or Scope of Work.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could forgo approving the amendment, resulting in risk to the success of the Early Learning Quality Network program, including failure to effectively spend down these ARPA COVID-19 funds.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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10/10/2023 |
22 |
Agreement Approval |
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12/19/2023 |
14 |
Amendment No. 1 Approved |
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4/23/2024 |
27 |
Amendment No. 2 Approved |
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11/13/2025 |
152 |
Amendment No. 3 Approved |
Location: N/A
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Total Existing Budget |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Total Funding Sources |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 7/9/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jie Wu, Interim Executive Director, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity; Christopher Darville, Interim Director, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity; Danielle Brooks, Senior Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity; Gisselle Zapata, Sr. Contract Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Amendment