Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Tiko Reynolds-Hausman, Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): 230095
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): East Harris County Empowerment Council
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): 10%
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 East Harris County Empowerment Council in the decreased amount of $269,290 to reduce the term, reduce the amount of grant funds appropriated, update the budget contained in the Harris County ARPA Projects Budget Information (Exhibit B), update the Federal Award Identification Table (Exhibit E), and update the Statement of Work (Exhibit G) for Early Learning Quality Network for Harris County for the period of October 10, 2023 - June 30, 2026 (230095), Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature.
end
Background and Discussion:
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law. Harris County Commissioners Court set goals for ARPA funding to mitigate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing support for early learning and care initiatives.
Research shows that approximately 25% of child care facilities closed statewide during the pandemic, with a 20% loss in available child care capacity. In response, Harris County is piloting the Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN), a community-driven initiative aimed at improving early learning and care by collaborating with providers, families, and stakeholders to enhance quality based on each community'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 (LNO) serving five communities in Harris County. East Harris County Empowerment Council, one of the LNOs, is amending its budget to reflect a decrease of the total award. Savings from reductions will be reallocated to address increased staff time required to carry out the work, needed salary adjustments, and additional supplies cost.
Expected Impact:
The approval of this budget amendment will enable East Harris County Empowerment Council to provide accurate compensation for their personnel and ensure sufficient supplies for the implementation of the project.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could forgo approving the amendment, resulting in significant risks to the success of the Early Learning Quality Network program, including failure to accurately spend down these ARPA COVID-19 funds.
County Strategic Plan Goal: Choose an item.
County Strategic Plan Objective: Choose an item.
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 |
|
10/10/2023 |
22 |
Award Approval |
|
12/19/2023 |
14 |
Amendment No. 1 Approval |
|
2/27/2024 |
324 |
Amendment No. 2 Approval |
|
8/27/2024 |
18 |
Amendment No. 3 Approval |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Early Learning Quality Network for Harris County |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$ |
$719,688.10 |
$719,688.10 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$719,688.10 |
$719,688.10 |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$719,688.10 |
$719,688.10 |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
|
CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
|
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 2/12/2026
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: Tiko Reynolds-Hausman, Executive Director, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, Danielle Brooks, Senior Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of Economic Equity Opportunity; Gisselle Zapata, Sr. Contract Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Amendment