Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: David Berry, County Administrator
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Texas Children’s Hospital
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Achievement (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval of a three-year agreement with Texas Children’s Hospital as part of the Early Childhood Impact Fund for advancing language and brain development for infants and toddlers in the total amount of $4,607,487, funded by ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
end
Background and Discussion:
In October 2020, Commissioner’s Court approved $10 million in Harris County general funds for the Early Childhood Impact Fund, designed to invest in programs and interventions with significant potential to dramatically improve early childhood outcomes in Harris County. The goals of the fund include:
• Invest in the most promising, cost-effective, evidence-based solutions for improving early childhood outcomes in Harris County
• Build a stronger, more seamless network of early childhood service providers
• Prioritize rigorous data collection and evaluation
• Create pathways to long-term, scalable impact for further investment
The County released an RFP in late 2020 to solicit applications from service providers, organizations, and researchers to implement a three-year program. Three organizations were selected to receive funding.
Texas Children’s Hospital was chosen by the review committee and will receive a total of $4,607,487 implement a community-based infant brain development initiative aimed at helping families support language development, connect to community resources, and access maternal mental health support.
With child care and early childhood being a target area for Harris County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Local Fiscal Recovery funding, the ARPA Steering Committee recommends funding these contracts via Local Fiscal Recovery funds instead of general funds.
Expected Impact: Texas Children’s Hospital will reach 20,000 children 0-3 and their families in Harris County with basic supports for language development (e.g., books, activity cards) and access to other services, as well as 6,000 educators will receive early brain development. As a result, parents will improve their practices in language development - like the number of words spoken or the number of back-and-forth conversations - and increase their children’s language ability and parents will experience improved parental self-efficacy, as well as improved mental health
Alternative Options: This program was chosen via competitive RFP process and selected via purchasing rules. If the County does not invest in this vendor, there is unlikely to be viable alternatives to provide the same, high-quality services.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
X Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
X Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
10/27/20 |
200315 |
Approval of $10 million in General Funds for the Early Childhood Impact Fund |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Childhood Investment Programs (Strategy, Policy, and Planning) |
|
|
SFY 22 |
FY 23 |
Next 3 FYs |
|
Incremental Expenditures (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Non-Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Incremental Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Funding Sources (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Existing Budget |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Requested |
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$895,900.25 |
$1,535,829.00 |
$2,175,757.75 |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Requested |
$895,900.25 |
$1,535,829.00 |
$2,175,757.75 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$895,900.25 |
$1,535,829.00 |
$2,175,757.75 |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Requested |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Implementation Date: 3/1/22
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Lytrina Bob, Senior Contracts Administrator/Supervisor; Department of Purchasing; Sara Mickelson, Director, Early Childhood Initiatives, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Agreement - Early Childhood Impact Fund - Texas Children’s Hospital