The New York State (NYS) Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) mission is to serve New York’s public by promoting the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children, families, and communities of New York State (NYS). OCFS has released this request for applications (RFA) to solicit competitive applications from child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies to establish child care support centers (CCSC). CCR&R agencies are established not-for-profit, community-based organizations that provide services to support the child care infrastructure. CCR&Rs awarded under this procurement will receive funding to establish a CCSC. Each CCSC will administer a regional child care substitute pool to support the daily operations of OCFS licensed/registered child care programs. The addition of child care substitute pools will provide qualified professionals to licensed and registered child care programs. This allows providers to utilize substitute caregivers to fill in when necessary to provide continuity of care for families and maintain child care operations. The CCSCs will receive technical assistance and relevant technology to support the implementation of the substitute pools from the Early Care and Learning Council (ECLC). Up to four awards will be made statewide with a maximum of one award per OCFS-defined region to an established CCR&R currently serving that region. The total funding for this project is anticipated to be $12.5 million over five years ($2.5M per year), which will be divided equally among the awarded contractors, anticipated to be $625,000 per awardee annually. Background Governor Kathy Hochul announced the goal of creating a substitute pool of vetted, trusted professionals who can provide needed continuity of care for families and support child care providers in her 2025 State of the State address. Enacted in the 2026 Budget, CCSCs will administer regional substitute pools to benefit the public by supporting child care operations. The CCSCs will provide qualified, trained substitute caregivers to support licensed and registered child care programs facing staff shortages or absences. These substitute caregivers will reduce service interruptions for the children and families of NYS by helping programs meet required child/staff ratios and supervision requirements. The CCSCs will administer the substitute pool in their designated OCFS region and verify that all prospective substitute caregivers meet minimum qualifications, receive an approved comprehensive background check, and complete required trainings as indicated by OCFS regulation (for further information, please see RFA Section 4.2 Performance Requirements). The services of the CCSCs shall be provided at no cost to child care providers. Funds are allocated to the awarded contractors for the purposes of administering this program. Minimum Qualifications Eligible applicants must: • Be a not-for-profit organization. • Be operating as a CCR&R agency, as listed on the OCFS public website: https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/referral-agencies.php as of deadline for submission of applications, as denoted in the Calendar of Events. • Be prequalified, if not exempt, on the application deadline. (See RFA Section 7.8 for additional information.) Desired Outcomes CCSCs will support licensed and registered child care programs facing staff shortages or absences by providing qualified substitute caregivers. The CCSCs will administer substitute pools for eligible child care providers. These services will be provided at no cost to the child care providers. Funds are allocated to awarded contractors for the purposes of administering this program. The target population to be served by the child care substitute pools includes OCFS-licensed/registered child care programs within the OCFS-defined region within which the awarded CCSC is located. The purpose of the child care substitute pools is to support the daily operations of licensed/registered child care programs by providing qualified substitute caregivers to programs when they need staffing assistance. Applicants may submit one application in response to this RFA and may receive a maximum of one award. Please refer to the RFA document located on the "documents" tab for additional information and submission requirements.

Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: None.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB)

SDVOB Goal: 0.00%

Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE)

MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00%

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE)

DBE Goal: 0.00%

RFA 1223 Child Care Support Centers

Funding Source

Dates

Supporting links

Secure Grant Funding 10x Faster

Get opportunities sent to your inbox