Department: Purchasing
Department Head/Elected Official: DeWight Dopslauf
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
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):
title
Request that the County Judge execute an amendment to an agreement with East Harris County Empowerment Council to update Exhibit B for early learning quality network for Harris County for the period of October 10, 2023 - November 30, 2026, with no increase in the total contract amount (230095), Justification for 0% MWDBE 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 including providing educational opportunities to mitigate pandemic impacts.
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 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 Equity and Opportunity and will be made up of five Local Network Organizations (LNO) and one Network Support Hub (NSH).
The LNO, East Harris County Empowerment Council, is amending their budget to reflect the hiring of a Controller for the Early Learning Quality Network project, as opposed to contracting this work out.
Expected Impact:
The approval of this budget amendment will allow East Harris County Empowerment Council to pay for their Controller position and ensure that they are in compliance for all grant requirements for this project.
Alternative Options:
Failure to approve this amendment could potentially disrupt the execution of Early Learning Quality Networks, as East Harris County Empowerment Council would be unable to invoice for their Controller position, leaving them in danger to be out of compliance for grant requirements.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
X Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
10/10/23 |
22 |
Agreement Approved |
|
12/19/23 |
15 |
First Amendment Approved |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
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 |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 2/27/24
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): N/A
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Danielle Brooks, Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of
Economic Equity and Opportunity, Gisselle Zapata, Sr. Buyer, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Agreement