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 special...
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