Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Department Head/Elected Official: Estella Gonzalez
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Interlocal Agreement
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): University of Houston
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (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 Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity for approval of an interlocal agreement with the University of Houston for the benefit of its Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality (UH IRWGS) in the amount of $2,333,251 to evaluate Early REACH (Raising Educational Access for Children in Harris County), Harris County’s child care contracted slots pilot program.
end
Background and Discussion:
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law. Harris County Commissioners Court set goals for its ARPA funds, including designating funding to address the shortage of quality child care within the county. In response, Harris County is implementing Early REACH, a pilot program to contract with high-quality child care centers to increase the supply of affordable, high-quality child care in Harris County. On January 31, 2023, Commissioners Court approved a contract with BakerRipley to implement Early REACH.
Harris County is seeking to contract with UH IRWGS as the evaluator for the necessary evaluation components of this project. The scope of the evaluation includes center, family, and market impacts, as well as the program’s cost-effectiveness. The evaluation partner will work with DEEO through December 31, 2026, to examine the extent of Early REACH’s impact on Harris County’s children and families.
Expected Impact:
The UH IRWGS will assess Early REACH's effectiveness by examining its alignment with intended goals through an evaluation of both its implementation and the program's inherent structure. This endeavor aims to provide valuable data to the county, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the efficacy of its investment and recommendations for possible future programming and/or funding.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court may choose to forgo evaluating this program, which would result in little or no data or findings about the impact of the program.
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 |
|
1/31/2023 |
444 |
Approved BakerRipley contract to operate the Early REACH program |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Early Childhood Initiatives |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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1040 - FLEX Fund |
$ |
$364,570.47 |
$364.570.47 |
$874,969.13 |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$364,570.47 |
$364,570.47 |
$874,969.13 |
|
Total Funding Request |
$ |
$364,570.47 |
$364,570.47 |
$874,969.13 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 4/23/2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Estella Gonzalez, Executive Director, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity; Don Titcombe, Assoc Director, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity Danielle Brooks, Sr. Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives, Early Childhood Initiatives, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity
Attachments (if applicable): PDF of Signed ILA