SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- EVALUATION OF INFORMAL CHILDCARE PROVIDERS IN AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITIES
- Notice Date
- 7/9/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Parklawn Building Room 5-101 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-04Y004923
- Response Due
- 7/24/2004
- Archive Date
- 8/8/2004
- Point of Contact
- Chris Ganey, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-443-4379, Fax 301-443-3849,
- E-Mail Address
-
cganey2@psc.gov
- Description
- The Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau (DHHS), through the Program Support Center, intends to negotiate a sole-source award with The Oklahoma Childcare Resource and Referral Association, Oklahoma City, OK . Purpose: Public Law 104-193 amended the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act to reserve ?not less than 1 percent and no more than 2 percent of the aggregate Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) funds for Indian Tribes. The Secretary elected to reserve the full 2 percent set-aside. In FY 2003, 259 Tribal grantees were awarded $96,066,881 in CCDF funds. Over 500 Federally recognized Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages and a Native Hawaiian organization receive CCDF funds directly or through consortium arrangements. Indian children are dually eligible to receive services from a Tribal or State CCDF program. With few exceptions, tribal CCDF grantees are located in rural, economically challenged areas. The CCDF regulations provide enormous flexibility for Tribes to design and administer their programs in accordance with the unique needs and challenges in their tribal communities. Recognizing that many smaller Tribes do not have the infrastructure in place to support certain CCDF requirements, the Child Care Bureau exempted these tribal grantees from two key provisions. First, smaller Tribes (?exempt Tribes?) are not required to spend at least four percent of their CCDF funds on activities that promote quality child care. Second, exempt Tribes are not required to offer the full array of child care options to parents by operating a certificate program. Historically, Tribal communities have provided child care through an informal network of family, friends and neighbors. The Cherokee Nation contracts annually with 300 relatives to provide child care. In FY 2002, 1,088 children were cared for by relatives. The Cherokee Nation provides an array of support to providers including monitoring, training and is in the process of initiating a new curriculum and incentive program designed specifically for relative caregivers. The Choctaw Nation works with 35 relative caregivers and makes available training and information through a coordinated effort with the local resource and referral agency. The Delaware Tribe, which supports 57 family child care homes that provide care for 436 children, has begun to develop linkages with the business community to support them in meeting the needs of their employees. In FY 2002 the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians served 162 children in relative care settings, representing 75 percent of all children served with CCDF funds. The Eastern Shawnee Tribe requires all providers to be state licensed and currently serve 185 children. They provide parent support initiatives including quarterly parenting education classes. Each tribal participant has made an investment in addressing the needs of families in its tribal community and will be able to expand its capabilities through furthering partnerships and participation in this national demonstration and evaluation project. The evolving partnership between the tribal child care programs and the state child care resource and referral agencies represents a unique and historic opportunity for all Oklahoma?s communities to work together on behalf of young children. The Family and Work Institute (FWI) established ?Sparking Connections,? a national research and demonstration initiative with the following goals: 1) to expand the knowledge base about how to enhance the child care provided by family, friend and neighbor caregivers, including the roles that retailers and other employers can play; 2) to design, demonstrate and document strategies to support a productive workforce by connecting employees and their family, friend and neighbor caregivers to useful community resources; and 3) to share what is learned with employers, families, communities, funders and policy makers throughout the nation. Based on information collected during Phase I of the Sparking Connections project, seven to ten pilot sites have been selected to test and evaluate strategies and examples of how to help improve the quality of care by family, friend and neighbor caregivers during Phase II. The ?Oklahoma Sparking Connections? (administered by The Oklahoma Childcare Resource and Referral Association ) site has been selected as one of the approximately ten sites participating in Phase II. This site is unique because it will serve as a model statewide initiative demonstrating collaboration between five Indian Tribes (Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Delaware Tribe, Eastern Shawnee Tribe and United Keetoowah Band) and the Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association, Inc. Specifically, this project will: 1) demonstrate and evaluate services provided by Tribes to family members who care for children or whose children receive a Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy for child care; 2) demonstrate successful collaboration between child care resource and referral, Tribes and retailers to meet the needs of families in their communities; and 3) engage employers in activities to improve the quality of child care received by children of their employees and other children in the communities. THE PROPOSED SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION ACTION IS FOR SUPPLIES OR SERVICES FOR WHICH THE GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO SOLICIT AND NEGOTIATE WITH ONLY ONE SOURCE UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1 INTERESTED PERSONS MAY IDENTIFY THEIR INTEREST AND CAPABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE REQUIREMENT OR SUBMIT PROPOSALS WITHIN 7 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO COMPETE THIS PROPOSED SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. INFORMATION RECEIVED WILL NORMALLY BE CONSIDERED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT.
- Record
- SN00617919-W 20040711/040709211832 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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