Primary Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jie Wu, Interim Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Transmittal by the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity of two 2026 Achievement Awards received from The National Association of Counties (NACo) for its Accessible Child Care Training Supports (ACCTS) and Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) programs.
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Background and Discussion:
The NACo Achievement Awards program is a non-competitive awards program that seeks to recognize innovative county government programs. DEEO received two awards for programming in the area of Children & Youth: the Accessible Child Care Training Supports (ACCTS) and the Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) programs. The DEEO Early Childhood Initiatives Portfolio previously won two NACo awards for the Early REACH (2024) and SHINE (2025) programs.
The Accessible Child Care Training Supports (ACCTS) program is designed to stabilize Harris County’s early childhood education infrastructure by boosting workforce retention, wages, and career advancement. Targeting low-income educators at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, the ACCTS program offers early child care educators three service line options: a comprehensive pathway to attaining their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, opportunities to attend high-quality, state-compliant professional development, and specialized training and certification scholarships. By pairing these educational pathways with milestone financial incentives and barrier-busting assistance for technology, transportation, and child care, the program continues to successfully improve local child care quality and strengthen the economic mobility of Harris County's frontline workforce.
The Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) program is a community-driven approach to supporting quality improvement in early learning settings within Harris County. Utilizing a hub-and-spoke program model, ELQN builds upon the unique strengths and opportunities of five focal communities located within child care deserts. Building on community-directed action plans, ELQN launched seven targeted initiatives specifically designed to support families, caregivers, and other early learning stakeholders in the selected areas. These initiatives aim to improve child care environments, increase access to quality care, and support additional community infrastructure through high-quality training and materials, technology, facility improvements, and temporary child care services.
Expected Impact:
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Alternative Options:
This is a transmittal.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: K: Provide workers with training and other supports (e.g. child care) to participate fully in the local economy.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): K1: Advance child care quality and accessibility through workforce development programming and child care slots.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 9/17/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): N/A Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department:
Jie Wu, Interim Executive Director, Economic Equity and Opportunity;
Chris Darville, Ed.D., Interim Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, Economic Equity and Opportunity;
Attachments (if applicable): NACo 2026 Achievement Award Certificates