Department: Purchasing
Department Head/Elected Official: DeWight Dopslauf
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): 230257
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): School Readiness Consulting, LLC
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent for approval of an award on the basis of best proposal meeting requirements and that the County Judge execute an agreement with School Readiness Consulting, LLC for early learning quality networks evaluation for Harris County for the period of January 30, 2024 - December 31, 2026 (230257), Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature.
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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 including providing educational opportunities to mitigate pandemic impacts.
The first five years of life are critical - it is when a child’s brain most rapidly develops. The care and education children experience in these first years of life shape brain development and set the stage for their future learning and health. Yet, most settings that children experience in their earliest years are not providing the adequate care and education they need. Traditional attempts to improve quality are not reaching enough places where children are every day - very few child care facilities participate in current quality initiatives and other types of child care that are commonly used by families (e.g. grandmothers caring for multiple children in their extended family, neighbors caring for multiple children on their block) receive no support from current initiatives.
Approximately half of young children in Harris County live in low-income families (i.e., under 200% of the Federal Poverty Line) and most of these children have working parents and need non-parental care. Children experiencing poverty can make the same developmental and learning trajectory as their wealthier counterparts if they have access to high-quality, early learning. According to a 2021 analysis conducted by Texas Policy Lab, 96% of low-income children under 3 in Harris County live in a quality child care desert.
In addition, low-income children are unlikely to be in programs that are engaged in quality improvement initiatives. Currently, Texas Rising Star (TRS), Texas’ Quality Rating and Improvement System, only reaches a fraction of low-income children - as measured by children who receive Financial Aid for Child Care (i.e., child care subsidy) - and the child care providers who serve them. Less than half of all programs statewide participate in the subsidy program and, in the Gulf Coast region, only 12% of subsidy providers participate in TRS.
At this urgent time for child development, there is less child care available to support young children than ever as a result of COVID-19. Research from Children at Risk indicates that approximately 25% of all child care facilities closed statewide during the height of the pandemic and 20% of all available child care capacity was lost. Communities of color were the most impacted by COVID-19 related closures. These communities experienced twice the rate of child care disruptions and centers within these communities were twice as likely to close. In addition to the number of closures of programs overall, programs seeking to reopen, including school-based programs, struggle to hire qualified staff to support young children because of the pandemic.
Harris County’s response to this information is to pilot a new, community-driven network approach to supporting quality improvement in early learning settings (primarily focused on child care settings). The Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) strategy goal is to improve early learning and care by working alongside providers, families, and other community stakeholders to focus on quality improvement initiatives that build upon the unique strengths and opportunities of each focal community. This work will be closely supported by the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, and will be made up of four Local Network Organizations (LNOs) and one Network Support Hub (NSH).
Harris County is seeking to contract with School Readiness Consulting (SRC) to engage in a comprehensive evaluation of the Early Learning Quality Network (ELQN) project. Through this collaboration, SRC will work with Harris County to assess the impact of the ELQN initiative on the overall quality of child care within the participating local communities.
The primary focus of the evaluation will be to examine the impact of ELQN on enhancing child care quality. SRC will employ rigorous methodologies to measure and analyze the effectiveness of the project in elevating the standards of early learning quality in the specified communities. Furthermore, SRC will undertake the critical task of documenting and analyzing the experiences of both child care providers and community members involved in the effort to enhance local child care quality through the innovative community-driven network approach of ELQN. This multifaceted evaluation will delve into the challenges, successes, and lessons learned during the implementation of the project, providing valuable insights for future initiatives aimed at improving early childhood education.
In essence, the collaboration between Harris County and SRC seeks to not only gauge the immediate impact of ELQN on child care quality but also to understand the dynamics and intricacies of the community-driven approach. By thoroughly evaluating the experiences of those directly involved, the partnership aims to contribute valuable knowledge that will inform the refinement and expansion of similar initiatives, fostering the continuous improvement of early learning experiences for the benefit of children and communities alike.
Expected Impact:
School Readiness Consulting (SRC) will evaluate the implementation and impact on the communities the Early Learning Quality Network serves. SRC's evaluation efforts aim to generate comprehensive data that will enable Harris County to gauge the effectiveness of its investment in the ELQN project. SRC will provide insights into whether the ELQN project aligns with its intended goals, and will produce information that allows Harris County to make informed decisions regarding the project's efficacy. The resulting data from SRC's evaluation will also contribute to a broader understanding of the outcomes and implications of the initiative. This knowledge will prove instrumental in shaping and refining future quality initiatives, as Harris County leverages the findings to inform strategic decisions and optimize its investments in early learning programs.
Alternative Options:
Harris County may opt to solicit new bids from alternative vendors for the evaluation of the project. This choice carries the potential consequence of delaying the evaluation process, extending it beyond the timeframe required to yield pertinent data crucial for effective program implementation. Alternatively, Harris County has the option to forego the evaluation of this program altogether, a decision that would yield minimal to no data or findings regarding the program's impact.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/30/2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Danielle Brooks, Manager - Early Childhood Initiatives, DEEO; Jeremy Woodard, Sourcing Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter